{"id":25720,"date":"2007-10-11T18:46:52","date_gmt":"2007-10-11T17:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?p=25720"},"modified":"2013-07-09T17:05:17","modified_gmt":"2013-07-09T16:05:17","slug":"st-pauls-road-a-survey-of-doorstep-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?p=25720","title":{"rendered":"St Paul\u2019s Road &#8211; a survey of doorstep opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25721\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25721\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25721\" alt=\"St Paul's Road - a survey of doorstep opinion (2007)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-231x300.jpg\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-231x300.jpg 231w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-791x1024.jpg 791w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road.jpg 827w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>St Paul\u2019s Road \u2013 a survey of doorstep opinion <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By Susan King<\/p>\n<p>Published 2007 by the Bohemia Village Voice<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Voice staff did a door-to-door survey in St Paul\u2019s Road, (in Bohemia, a residential part of St Leonards in Sussex), recently to find out what issues were of concern to local residents. One or two things emerged way ahead of others, namely, parking and badly behaved youngsters. Faith in the school, the YMCA, the council and the police taking any notice of the residents\u2019 concerns was non-existent. Indignation ran high, in several cases amounting to a deep sense of betrayal. Several residents considered the police to be on the side of the yobs and insolently inimical to decent people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cthis democracy process is all a farce\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWardens are only a token gesture\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThey said they\u2019d prosecute me because I got hold of his ear\u2019ole.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhat do we pay our taxes for?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhat can we do? It\u2019s a waste of time reporting things.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe police never came\u2026then people wonder why people take the law into their own hands.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_25729\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25729\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25729\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25729\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25729\" alt=\"Sue King (left) interviews Barbara Welford in St Paul's Road\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Barbara-Welford-Col-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Barbara-Welford-Col-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Barbara-Welford-Col.jpg 945w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25729\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sue King (left) interviews Barbara Welford in St Paul&#8217;s Road<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>PARKING<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The biggest concern was parking. Emotions seem to be at boiling point as regards parents and teachers from St Paul\u2019s School not only clogging the road up with their cars, but also parking in a very irresponsible way, likely to cause accidents. Residents have complained to the school and, the school merely telling them to contact the council, have felt disregarded. Nevertheless, they have contacted the council, and feel they have been fobbed off again with merely a token gesture, since the wardens do very little and are ineffective.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the parking chaos continues unabated. Residents told us parents park right on the corners and sometimes even double-park on corners, making it very dangerous for other drivers and pedestrians, especially children. Many can never park outside their own house or even in their own street, sometimes having to park several streets away. Double-parking is a problem down the entire length of the road. Even as The Voice recorded these complaints, there were two instances of double-parking close by. One resident pointed out this would make it impossible for fire engines to get along the road.<\/p>\n<p>There were complaints about parents doing U-turns, parking irresponsibly \u201cjust waving to their kids,\u201d and that they \u201cabandon cars in the middle of the road.\u201d One resident close to the school had his wing mirror smashed three times in a couple of months by the careless driving of parents. Other comments included, \u201cThe road is chock-a-block with parents.\u201d \u201cSt. Paul\u2019s just say ring the council about the parking, but the council wardens don\u2019t do much, they just say, \u2018Would you mind moving on, sir?\u2019 and that\u2019s all.\u201d \u201cWardens are only a token gesture,\u201d declared another man. \u201cI think the school should use their influence with parents and parking,\u201d a resident said, \u201cThe school is thinking of expanding their facilities, so is the YMCA, but they should think about the parking.\u201d A man told us, \u201cThe council know (about parking). They held a survey, so they know where people come from.\u201d One resident said she, and lots of other residents, have had rows with parents over the way they park.<\/p>\n<p>Several people cited schoolteachers as well as parents as causing parking problems. \u201cThey all park in the road and don\u2019t park in the school any more.\u201d There were three independent comments of \u201cIt\u2019s an accident waiting to happen,\u201d from separate householders. One added, \u201cI wish they could just close the school! We viewed the house during the Easter holidays so we had no conception!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the other end of the road, the YMCA adds its quota to parking problems. A nearby resident said although the YMCA has a car-park, \u201clots of people won\u2019t park there because it\u2019s difficult to get out of,\u201d therefore they park in the road outside.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Welford told us the YMCA used to allow residents to park in their car park out of hours. \u201cThen they put up railings to stop people. It\u2019s a b***** eyesore; a complete waste of money. They should have spent the money on making the building nicer. There was a meeting about whether the railings were wanted or not, but the railings were put up a week later. They were obviously all ready. This democracy process is all a farce. It was already a decided thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Almost everybody we spoke to voiced their concerns about danger, especially to children, from speeding cars, boy racers, and bikes. Two men, one with three young children, favoured speed bumps in the road. They were amongst several who complained of St Paul\u2019s Road being used as a rat-run, and youths constantly having scooter races up and down the road.<\/p>\n<p>One resident said, \u201cSome sort of controlled parking might be useful.\u201d Others disagreed. Vic Bond said, \u201cI don\u2019t agree with the idea of paying for parking outside your own house, especially since people who pave over their front gardens don\u2019t have to pay. We only have small gardens here.\u201d An old-established resident said, \u201cIt\u2019s gone down the dumps. It used to be a really nice residential area, but now we have coaches and lorries parking here.\u201d Parents, teachers, even the ice-cream man touting for custom outside the school came in for criticism, but there were no complaints about the children; on the contrary, residents said they were \u201call right\u201d and made \u201cno excessive noise\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>An elderly lady, who has lived close to the school for twenty years, said she enjoyed the children making friends with her Yorkshire terriers. Her only complaint was that the ice-cream man parks immediately outside her window (only a yard from her sitting-room) from 2.30 pm every schoolday and constantly makes a noise nuisance.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25730\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25730\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25730\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25730\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25730\" alt=\"Jim Proudfoot of St Paul's Road being interviewed by Sue King\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Jim-Proudfoot-BW-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Jim-Proudfoot-BW-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Jim-Proudfoot-BW.jpg 945w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25730\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim Proudfoot of St Paul&#8217;s Road being interviewed by Sue King<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>YMCA <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The other major concern was the YMCA, on two points; the cumulative effect on parking and noise and disturbance from kids hanging around at night. Sometimes this prevented residents from sleeping. \u201cThey\u2019re sitting on the wall shouting their mouths off and keep us awake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One man, speaking on both issues, described the YMCA as \u201cmore trouble than enough.\u201d Peter Welford said, \u201cWe can\u2019t get to sleep and I get abuse if I tell them. Years ago it used to be10 pm and all go home and quiet. Now it\u2019s noisy until a quarter to eleven\u201d He continued, \u201cChildren smashed the window with a brick. I complained but the YMCA wouldn\u2019t let me use their phone to phone the parents or police. When the police eventually came they said they would prosecute me because I got hold of his ear\u2019ole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barbara Welford said that although there was noise from groups of children outside the YMCA at night, she found when she tactfully asks them to keep the noise down, they do. \u201cThey really don\u2019t realise the noise they\u2019re making.\u201d She has asked the YMCA to have someone at the gate to tell the children to go home afterwards. \u201cThe YMCA should police what happens,\u201d said another householder.<\/p>\n<p>A resident who has lived in St. Paul\u2019s Road for 23 years volunteered, \u201c there are no problems with the YMCA. Jim Proudfoot said, \u201cThe YMCA is great. It provides things for young people to do, but the downside is groups of young people and noise. It keeps people on edge. You can\u2019t quite relax in case there\u2019s something else going on; vandalism.\u201d He added, \u201cI\u2019m not one who sees every young person wearing a hood as a vandal. I try not to be a nimby, but older people might feel a bit more vulnerable\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Voice spoke to Karen Manning, who runs the YMCA. She told us it was always busier in the summer because of students. The youth clubs, which start again in September, \u201cget them off the streets and stop them vandalising. We offer that as a service to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Resident Nicola West said there should be more things for children to do, especially things they could do by themselves in a safe environment without having to spend money. This applied to the whole age range.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>VANDALS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There were several complaints about bad behaviour, bad language, and youngsters vandalising cars. A resident said, \u201cThere\u2019s swathes of teenagers going up and down the road. They\u2019re abusive. The police said it would be kept under control by a curfew, but nothing was ever done.\u201d Several householders said they had never seen any police or street wardens, and two asked \u201chave we got any?\u201d Another said the vandals were youths coming out of pubs at week-ends.<\/p>\n<p>Noise from pubs after closing time from people walking home was mentioned. Vic Bond said \u201csince the Wheatsheaf has extended its opening hours, Friday and Saturday nights are very rowdy until 1 a.m.\u2026or maybe it\u2019s just that the kids have now come of age to go to the pub.\u201d Another man complained of youths playing football in the road, \u201calthough there are two pitches nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A resident said hooliganism was the only thing wrong with the area. \u201cChildren as young as five or six jump out in front of cars on purpose, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re from this area. I think they\u2019re from*****\u201d \u00a0She mentioned the name of a nearby road. Several other householders pinpointed the same road as a source of hooligans disturbing St. Paul\u2019s Road.<\/p>\n<p>She spoke of groups of yobs loitering at the supermarket. \u201cThey kept tormenting an old lady every time she went there. Eventually she told the police. All they said was, \u2018change your route going home.\u2019 What are we paying our taxes for?\u201d Her neighbour added, \u201cWhat can we do? It\u2019s a waste of time reporting things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first lady continued, \u201cThey should have a bit of respect. If I saw them mistreating the elderly I\u2019d give them a slap!\u201d She went on to tell us, \u201cThe police never came when my other half reported something thrown at him by yobs. There were six youths and they threw some fluid at him which exploded. They did it three times at least, but missed. They might hurt somebody next time. Then people wonder why people take the law into their own hands. I feel very strongly about it. So does my partner, as the police said they wouldn\u2019t come to see him. Pathetic! I just want to live a normal life and go out. And elderly people, they want to be able to go out without being scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mrs Hollett said, \u201cThere was a big disturbance at night outside our house. The police wouldn\u2019t come. They said phone the community officer. But we don\u2019t know how to get hold of him. Old PC Barrie was very good. He knew everyone, but since he retired we haven\u2019t seen anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25731\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25731\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25731\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25731\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25731\" alt=\"St Paul's Road, opposite YMCA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-opp-YMCA-BW-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-opp-YMCA-BW-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-opp-YMCA-BW.jpg 945w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">St Paul&#8217;s Road, opposite YMCA<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>SHOPS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Several people said that they would like to have more traditional shops in Bohemia, i.e. those which supplied basic needs such as grocers, greengrocers and butchers, plus the restoration of the late-lamented post office. \u201cShops keep closing and then re-opening as kebabs and pizzas,\u201d said Nicola West, \u201cWe don\u2019t need them, we need essential needs\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe shops are a bit\u2026,\u201d said Terry Baker, with an expressive look. He didn\u2019t finish the sentence but continued, \u201cthough they\u2019re getting better. There\u2019s a need to encourage nicer shops that actually sell proper goods. It needs a bit of life in that road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another man said, \u201cThe shops are a disaster. The council should be more pro-active re local businesses, for example, subsidising the business rate. This council seems to be dreadfully reactive. It should take the initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two people specifically blamed yellow lines for the demise of so many shops in Bohemia Road, and James Caspian also blamed supermarkets. Those the <em>Voice<\/em> asked about the proposed ASDA were for the most part impartial, though some were concerned about its effect on local shops and businesses, and the knock-on effect this would have on the Bohemia area. One was in favour, but qualified this by worries about it making the congestion in Bohemia Road even worse: \u201cBohemia has been getting congested ever since they put the traffic lights in.\u201d (at Needlepoint).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Some residents spoke about the visual appearance of Bohemia Road, appreciating its old buildings and decrying unsuitable modernisation and tawdry street furniture.<\/p>\n<p>James Caspian said, \u201cBohemia Road is very old \u2013 my real beef is the plastic windows and doors. The character of those old houses is just defaced. It\u2019s ruining the look of those lovely Victorian and Edwardian houses. I\u2019d like to see it become a conservation area.\u201d He also commented on the Lidl sign and the Shell sign. \u201cBohemia Road is defaced by those enormous twenty-four hour lit-up signs. The Lidl sign is an eyesore. Light pollution and all these modern buildings spoil the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another man said with a shudder, \u201cThose dreadful plastic flowers! (i.e. in the council\u2019s hanging baskets in Bohemia Road). This is the main entry to the town &#8211; and it\u2019s a joke.\u201d Two householders expressed concern over proposed developments at Horntye Park.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>STREET CLEANING &amp; LITTER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Residents considered the standard of street cleaning to be appalling. Barbara Welford spoke up about litter, saying she would like to see other residents picking it up, as she does. \u201cWe should all pick up our rubbish and not whinge!\u201d She told us that she had been round with a petition about litter and as a result met neighbours she had never met before despite having lived in the road for twenty-three years. \u201cThe neighbourhood has got less friendly due to us all having cars rather than walking up and down the road. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s anything to do with the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vic Bond summed it up succinctly: \u201cVeolia? They\u2019re pretty rubbish!\u201d Mrs Hollett had recently complained to the council because a dirty nappy had lain in the street for three weeks. Another lady complained about dog mess in the road. \u201cIt\u2019s bad, especially as there\u2019s a school in the road.\u201d The drains in the gutters are all blocked up, a householder informed us. \u201cThey just fill up with mud and it all just gushes down the road. We don\u2019t see road sweepers. They can\u2019t be sweeping it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe litter is awful,\u201d exclaimed another resident. \u201cIt\u2019s a scandal. Especially when the dustmen have been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>COMMUNITY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Everyone who mentioned the neighbourliness of the road agreed that there was a good community spirit. One parent described it as \u201cfamily-orientated\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A fairly new resident said that he \u201clikes the area but people don\u2019t seem to take much interest in the neighbourhood, except the old stalwarts in the Bohemia Area Association. It\u2019s the same few people, but the meetings are open to everybody.\u201d He would \u201clike to see more people attending, and it would give it a stronger voice.\u201d Another said, \u201cThe neighbours are fine; I\u2019ve only been here a short time but I\u2019ve got to know quite a few people. People are friendly. I feel I can call on people in an emergency. People seem to chat quite a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An elderly widow told us, \u201cThey (her next-door neighbours) look after me because I lost my husband.\u201d Her neighbour added, \u201cWe all look after each other in this street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLots of life is coming into the road,\u201d said Terry Baker. \u201cThe street has got nicer since I\u2019ve lived here; people have moved in and done the houses up. I talk to all the neighbours. It\u2019s nice and friendly.\u201d Jenny Chantry said that apart from parking, \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely area. Very friendly and helpful, and seems to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter twenty-seven years in inner London, it\u2019s paradise here!\u201d declared James Caspian. He continued, \u201cpeople are friendly, it\u2019s peaceful, relaxed \u2013 fantastic parks and woods. I\u2019ve just been in the Park \u2013 the woods \u2013 with a group of Friends, clearing it. We\u2019ve opened it out and it\u2019s already let in a lot of light and encouraged lots of bluebells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A long-established resident told us that he enjoyed local wildlife and was pleased that an owl had recently stayed in the vicinity. \u201cIt was fantastic; everyone came out to listen to it\u201d He also enjoyed foxes living nearby and had watched their twelve-week old cubs.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Welford said, \u201cIt\u2019s a nice area, with a lovely pub, the Dripping Spring \u2013 lovely beers!\u201d He continued, \u201cIt\u2019s got good communications; there\u2019s buses, and you can walk to the station for London. There\u2019s shops &#8211; but problems because people can\u2019t park, though it\u2019s a pity that things like grocers, butchers and greengrocers have closed. \u201d<\/p>\n<p>His wife Barbara said, \u201cWe\u2019ve actually made a conscious decision that we\u2019re going to be carried out of here.\u201d One lady said with a dramatic flourish, \u201cNo comment; I\u2019ve sold my house; I\u2019m going; I don\u2019t care!\u201d When asked, \u201cDo you have a final comment to make as you\u2019re leaving?\u201d she replied, \u201cNo, no comment; I\u2019m going! I\u2019m off!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25732\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25732\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25732\" alt=\"St Paul's Road Sign\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Sign-300x146.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"146\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Sign-300x146.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-Sign.jpg 827w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\" data-mce-mark=\"1\"><strong>CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Residents appreciate the good things about the street where they live, such as friendly neighbours, but it is spoilt for them by a sense of being disempowered as regards the bad things, primarily parking chaos caused by the school, and badly behaved youngsters, mostly centred on the YMCA. With a little give and take, these things could so easily be put right. With the school and the YMCA, these things are the results of a conflict of interests. The way to resolve this is for both sides to get together in a neutral environment and discuss things non-aggressively, to find some common ground and common aims (eg, providing things for youngsters to do), and then, in a spirit of working together, to build on that by considering the things which are going wrong and how to guide these things back to a solution with which everybody is content.<\/p>\n<p>What is happening at the moment is that the residents are feeling treated like dirt, frustrated and hopeless. As a result, they naturally come to regard the other side as the opposition, and in such a scenario tempers rise, each side becomes defensive instead of working together to sort things out, and the situation deteriorates.<\/p>\n<p>Genuinely listening is so vital. It is an intrinsic part of respect for others, and one which the vast majority of authorities seem to have discarded. In order to get things done about concerns such as street cleaning, for example, the council should listen to what the residents have to say, and, furthermore, take it on board and do something about it.<\/p>\n<p>The problem of the police seeming to be on the side of the hooligans instead of on the side of decent people is difficult to solve on a local basis. It is not difficult to solve in itself. It only needs common sense policies to be put into place. But this needs to be addressed at a national level.<\/p>\n<p>By far the most prized thing about the St. Paul\u2019s Road area was the spirit of neighbourliness. But nobody should be complacent. Cars were pinpointed as undermining the feeling of community, and plenty of other things in modern life are constantly gnawing away at it. Little things, little kindnesses, a pleasant word for a neighbour, stopping to pass the time of day rather than rushing past, these are the things that people appreciate, and making the effort to do just a little more of them can play such a large part in strengthening the community spirit that St Paul\u2019s Road residents, like people everywhere, value so deeply.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\">\u201cIt\u2019s paradise here! &#8211; after twenty-seven years in inner London, it\u2019s paradise here!\u201d \u00a0 declared James Caspian. \u00a0 He continued,\u201d the people are friendly, it\u2019s peaceful, relaxed \u2013 fantastic parks and woods. \u00a0I\u2019ve just been in the Park \u2013 the woods \u2013 with a group of Friends, clearing it. \u00a0 We\u2019ve opened it out and it\u2019s already let in a lot of light and encouraged lots of bluebells.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25721\" style=\"width: 241px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?attachment_id=25721\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25721\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25721\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25721\" alt=\"St Paul's Road - a survey of doorstep opinion (2007)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-231x300.jpg\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-231x300.jpg 231w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road-791x1024.jpg 791w, http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bv\/St-Pauls-Road.jpg 827w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25721\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">St Paul&#8217;s Road &#8211; a survey of doorstep opinion (2007)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>St Paul\u2019s Road \u2013 a survey of doorstep opinion By Susan King Published 2007 by the Bohemia Village Voice &nbsp; INTRODUCTION Voice staff did a door-to-door survey in St Paul\u2019s Road, (in Bohemia, a residential part of St&#8230; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/?p=25720\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[111,81],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25720"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25720"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27040,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25720\/revisions\/27040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bohemiavillage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}