Beckenham High Street Improvements Update 10th July 2107

Improvement Works Update, Monday 10th July, courtesy of F M Conway, contractor for the works:

·         Footway excavation and sett laying will commence between Belmont Dry Cleaners and The Dance Studio.

·         Construction shuttering for the parking bays between The Dance Studio and Church Ave junction.

·         At the corner of Church Avenue and High Street; kerb, drainage and traffic signals work will commence.

·         The construction of the new planters on Beckenham Green will continue.

Previous completed works 

·         The kerbing and granite sett paving in the parking bays at Thornton’s Corner.

·         The paving outside Jumping Beans has been laid completing the area 47-65 High street. The old bus shelter in this location has been removed in preparation for a replacement shelter.

·         Kerb laying and new paving has commenced from The Big Breakfast towards Church Avenue.

The completed scheme 

Feedback from the community has revealed that there are some incorrect preconceptions about the scheme.

·         The High Street will not be pedestrianised. Improvements will however greatly improve the pedestrian environment with wider pavements, improved lighting and more and better road crossings.

·         After the improvements are complete the High Street will revert to two way traffic as prior to the improvements. The larger widenings such as the North-West corner of Thorntons Corner have been designed to enable the largest road vehicles to comfortably navigate the corner in both directions. Changes to the vehicle stop lines and traffic signalling will enable vehicles to use the reduced road space with minimal impacts on traffic flows.

·         No existing bus stops will be removed from the High Street. All bus stops will however be improved and will become fully disabled accessible. In order to create sufficient waiting space for passengers some bus stops will be located on what is the highway at present.

·         The scheme will not introduce shared surfaces where the footway and road surface will be on the same level. Throughout the scheme a kerb will be retained and the pedestrian areas will be a traditional pavement above vehicular areas except at crossing places.

Further information can be found at www.bromley.gov.uk/beckenhamimprovements

A Big Thank You 

Increasingly the project team and FM Conway have been receiving compliments about the improvements and the site contractors. Thank you for these. It is also much appreciated that businesses are working with and acknowledging that the site contractors of FM Conway are endeavouring to minimise disruption as much as possible.

We are aware that the works do cause noise and disruption. FM Conway will try and minimise the space for materials storage outside Beckenham Green as soon as possible. In the meantime thank you for your patience if you are affected.

About the scheme 

The scheme is designed to make the town more attractive to visitors and shoppers by day and night. A major objective is to support existing businesses and encourage new businesses to invest in the town centre. The High Street investment improvements will create a more attractive and safer pedestrian environment. Improvements will include new paving and road surfacing, improved and attractive lighting, improved road crossings and bus waiting facilities, better facilities for cyclists and improved amenity spaces including Beckenham Green.

Extensive planning and consultation has been carried out since the scheme was proposed in 2012. The cooperation and input of the ‘Town Centre Team’ and its members including the Beckenham Business Association, The Beckenham Society and the Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association is gratefully acknowledged, with their input key in shaping the nature of the scheme.