Woolwich coffee shop manager assaulted today – one week after reporting anti social behaviour
The manager of Coffee Lounge in Woolwich has tweeted that he was assaulted at 8:30 this morning and was punched in the face near the shop.
Last week he reveled numerous issues in the area and as a result was hiring three security officers.
TOWN CENTRE UPDATE: This morning our manager was punched in the face and assaulted by this man. If you have any information as to who he is please contact the police. pic.twitter.com/lDyMR332dK
— CoffeeLoungeNews (@CoffeeLoungeSE) August 7, 2018
In tweets last week the problems with anti social behaviour were said to be “terrorism our customers and ruining our business” and criticised authorities for their response.
Since then council and police have visited to talk of concerns. Many people came out to say they feel intimidated in the area.
It’s similar to the situation at Wilton Road in Abbey Wood. Many have highlighted issues with people congregating around bookies to the authorities, and then this week a stabbing occurred when a van is believed to have pulled up, two people jumped out and attacked a group around a betting shop.
If you saw anything you can call 101.
I suspect that this will only worsen as time goes on. Woolwich suffered in the 90s – almost a third of shops along Powis Street were replaced by charity shops or the clearance video places (the old pub and toy shop at the market end spring to mind). It wasn’t all that long ago that the square held little more than drunks, a condemned playground and an empty fountain.
Now the place is being filled with new blood, new money and new possibilities. The low-lifes of the area begrudge the loss of cheap food and whatever social standing they imagined they held. They resent especially the young millennials who herald an end to their comfortable existence. The same is happening in Islington, in Bow or wherever the wastrels realise that they may ultimately be moved along.
well Charles, I notice after a good point you turn into frustration, again. Might counselling be an option for you?
I’m writing from experience of seeing coffee shops and even a bakery collapsing in the last three months alone in these areas, all with a similar socio-economic background. The combined experience of stagnant wages, rising costs of imported foods (with the collapse of importers such as Nila cheap imported food is now all but the province of the chain giants) and a lack of means to enjoy the availability opportunities is inevitably causing friction in those who are less upwardly mobile.
I worked in Piraeus for a few years and the situation was very much what we are looking at now, with many rural or countryside families selling their businesses or holdings to allow their children to have a fighting chance in the cities. This is the new blood coming into Woolwich, and to the long term residents it can appear these are the very people pricing them out. As gentrification continues apace, those who were marginalised by society will continue to be. Marginalise someone enough and they will become feral.
What will ultimately happen is that, as Westminster Council did with Beckton back in the late 90s, Greenwich Council will eventually shift the undesirable element to its outer reaches or indeed offload to a grateful local authority for cash rather than sully prime real-estate. The attempt to resettle the Spray Street business owners to Thamesmead is an example of this.
Woolwich has great potential for businesses… The transportation system is better than most London Boroughs. The regeneration of Woolwich Town looks fantastic. Long may it continue.