Blackfen is divided into three wards, cutting through the centre of the main shopping area: Blackfen and Lamorbey to the south, Penhill and Blendon to the east, and Falconwood and Welling to the north. It must surely be the most (politically) divided district in the Bexley Borough. This can make it difficult to address issues which affect Blackfen collectively. The Blackfen Forum was set up in 2004 to overcome this but it ceased to exist in 2010.

Blackfen Library is situated on Blackfen Parade in Blackfen Road, which is in the Penhill and Blendon ward. There are three Conservative Councillors for this ward: Graham D’Amiral, Steven Hall and Nick O’Hare.

Next door in the Blackfen and Lamorbey ward are Conservative Councillors Brian Beckwith and Peter Craske and UKIP Councillor Lynn Smith. There are three Conservative Councillors for Falconwood and Welling: Nigel Betts, Val Clark and Louie French.

That’s quite a lot of councillors for Blackfen to have overall. But will any of them support Blackfen’s library and help to secure its future for the people of Blackfen?

Blackfen and Lamorbey ward map. In fact the map, taken from Bexley Council’s website in 2014, is an old one as it still shows the old library building in Cedar Avenue which closed in 2005.

Blendon and Penhill ward map

Falconwood and Welling ward map