A THAMESMEAD shopkeeper has appealed to Bexley Council not to forget the town.

Large amounts of resources, people and high profile visitors have poured into Thamesmead in the wake of the murder of Moses Nteyoho in October last year.

Since Mr Nteyoho, aged 22, of Chalcombe Road, Abbey Wood, was stabbed to death in Tavy Bridge, Bexley Council, Bexley police, Trust Thamesmead, Gallions Housing Association and other organisations have been working to improve the environment and support local residents.

In a deputation to Bexley’s council meeting last week, Dee Patel, who runs the Costcutter store on Tavy Bridge, thanked everyone for the efforts which have been made.

But Mr Patel, who has lived in the town for more than 30 years, added: “We don’t want you to forget Thamesmead.

We want you to continue to support the regeneration of the area.

“We don’t want Thamesmead to be like a leper, which is how we feel.”

He said the town needed action in the long-term, more policing and more things for young people to do.

Mr Patel said there was lots of mistrust in the town “because Thamesmead has been neglected in a very bad way in the last 20 years.

”It needs educating and cultivating.”

The planned regeneration of parts of Thamesmead, including Tavy Bridge, has stalled because of the current economic crisis and Mr Patel warned: “If there is no regeneration programme, the area will just go down and down.”

Bexley Council cabinet member for regeneration,Councillor Linda Bailey said Bexley was pushing for the funding restart the regeneration programme.

Cabinet member for community affairs, Councillor Katie Perrior said since the murder, lots of things had been done, tackling both the small and the big issues which affected people’s day-to-day lives.

These ranged from tackling car park flooding and better street lighting to setting up a one-stop-shop.

Other initiatives include a new police office, a third party reporting scheme to make it easier to report crimes, and extending the street pastors scheme into Thamesmead to make people feel safe.

Two more teenagers have been charged with Mr Nteyoho’s murder.

A 16-year-old arrested at Heathrow airport and a 17-year-old boy from Woolwich were due to appear at Barking Magistrates Court in custody yesterday(March 4).

Two 17-year-olds from Woolwich have also been charged with the murder and a preliminary hearing is due to take place at the Old Bailey on April 6.