Author: Copers Cope Area Residents' Association (CCARA)

Residents Association covering central and northern Beckenham. Founded in 1939 to protect and promote the interests of residents in matters of local concern

Increase in theft from motor vehicles in Beckenham

Message from Beckenham Police

There has been an increase in theft from motor vehicles in the Bromley area. The suspects are targeting gardeners and builders vans at present and Beckenham has been hit a few times on Copers Cope Road. If you are having any work done please inform your workers to keep there vans locked up even if they are popping in and out as this is enough time for the suspects to get in and out.

On another note please can you make sure you never leave anything valuable on show in your vehicle, should you use a sat nav/in car phone holder please remove these from the car and also wipe away the ring marks that are left on the windscreen as this is a sign that you have one. Please take the property inside rather than locking it into your glove box.


182A High Street, Beckenham – planning refused

A further application submitted to Bromley Council regarding the old Supa Electrics warehouse (behind the High Street) was refused this week by Bromley Council (a previous application was refused in Dec 2011). The developers plan to change the use of the building from warehouse to drinking establishment (open to 2am at the weekends), refurbish the existing building to include a side extension, and a raised terrace and garden area,

The reasons for refusal are:
1 The proposed development would be detrimental to the amenities that nearby residents might reasonably expect to be able to continue to enjoy by reason of late night noise and general disturbance associated with such a use thereby contrary to Policies S9 and BE1 of the Unitary Development Plan.

2 The proposed development would give rise to loss of prospect, an unacceptable degree of overlooking and loss of privacy and amenity to nearby occupiers thus contrary to Policy BE1 of the Unitary Development Plan.

3 The proposal would result in an over concentration of food and drink establishments contrary to Policy S9 of the Unitary Development Plan

4 The proposed development sited in this particular location gives rise to concerns in relation to crime and disorder and will undermine the quality of life for nearby occupiers thus contrary to the aims of the National Planning Policy Framework.

32 Church Avenue, Beckenham – planning refused

A proposal to erect a detached two storey four bedroom house with associated car parking and replacement garage for No. 30 at land rear of 32 Church Avenue was refused by Bromley Council this week. This decision is significant as the proposal is adjacent to the controversial site at the  Rear of 86 to 94 High Street Beckenham (which is awaiting an appeal decision). There are fears that ‘backland’ development behind the houses on Church Road could change the scope of the high density development planned for the Rear of 86 to 94 High Street Beckenham. This decision will be welcomed by local residents.

The reasons for refusal were:
1 The proposal, by reason of its size and siting, would constitute an inappropriate form backland development within a protected woodland, thereby contrary to Policies BE1, H7 and NE8 of the Unitary Development Plan.
2 The proposed development does not provide adequate servicing of the site,
contrary to Policy T17 of the Unitary Development Plan.

Bromley Community Engagement Forum’s public meeting/AGM will be on Wed 11 July, 7pm to 9pm

Wednesday 11 July, 7pm to 9pm, Bromley Football Club, Hayes Lane, Bromley BR2 9EF

(Light refreshments and Information stands from 6.30pm)

Guest speaker will be James Cleverly, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. This will be an opportunity for you to hear about how the local services plan to cope during the Olympic games.

Plus presentations from the Youth Council and the Safer Bromley Partnership (including Fire Brigade, Police, Ambulance, Council, PCT)

Question/Answer session on the night, advance notification of  questions requested.

All welcome to attend.

To enable me to plan seating arrangements please RSVP by email or phone.

Email: amanda.evans@bcef.org.uk

Telephone: 020 8658 7168

Bromley officers equipped with Taser

From Monday 2nd July 2012 Bromley Police will be able to deploy Taser equipped vehicles to quickly and directly respond to emergency calls.

The arrival of Taser in Bromley is part of a gradual rollout of Taser to all London Boroughs, so that each borough will have two Taser equipped vehicle available to respond to violent incidents – in addition to the support that MPS TSG (Territorial Support Group) and CO19 (Firearms) provide.

The Metropolitan Police currently has 1140 Tasers, of which 446 are deployed overtly by CO19 Firearms Command (116) and the Territorial Support Group (450). The remainder are allocated to training sites, or used in covert operations that are not deployable in support of normal Borough operations.

Bromley will have forty officers trained in the use of Taser – at any one time a maximum of four of these will be on patrol in two vehicles.

Chief Inspector Darren Murphy from Bromley Police said: “Taser has been safely and effectively used by the Metropolitan Police since 2003. This is about making sure that our officers are best equipped in their duty to protect the public.

It enables restraint of violent individuals safely and efficiently, it is often less harmful to offenders than striking them with an asp or using CS spray and it is a less lethal option than using a firearm.

Any time that a Taser is discharged the circumstances will be looked at for monitoring purposes and for transparency. There is a robust system of accountability including unique identification on each discharge and downloads from the Taser itself”.

Deputy Mayor Awards Winners of Beckenham’s Best Dressed Window

On Saturday some of you may have seen the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ian Payne and Mrs Payne walking our High Street talking to residents and visiting shop owners/managers. The Mayor’s Office had kindly accepted our invitation to present the awards for Beckenham’s Best Dressed Window and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ian Payne and Mrs Payne also took the opportunity to get out and about on our High Street.

Deputy Mayor, Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association and Beckenham Business Association

We met at Zizzi’s (thank you Emilio for opening up early for us) and took some time to discuss with the Deputy Mayor the importance of local community groups such as the Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association and the Beckenham Business Association working together to keep Beckenham town centre thriving.

We had all been impressed by the efforts of businesses for the window competition, and it certainly created a buzz around town, with stunning windows designed by all participants.

Our members often express concern in regard to the vitality of the High Street, with closure of shops and shops lying empty being a particular worry. We hope the competition gave a boost to the High Street and got more of us into our own local shops to see what they have to offer. It’s been said before… “use it or lose it” – if we want to keep a thriving High Street we need to shop there.

The winners

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Diamond Jubilee Window Display Awards:

  • 1st – Beckenham Flower Studio
  • 2nd – Red Boutique
  • 3rd – Beckenham Toys
  • Joint 4th – Chas Norman Cameras, Julienne Dancewear, The Kitchen Range
  • 5th – Thackray Williams

We visited the top three shops and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ian Payne presented their awards.

Well done to Beckenham Flower Studio for winning the first Best Dressed Window competition! There will, obviously, be a different theme for next year’s competition – but who will hold the trophy in 2013?

Deputy Mayor and Beckenham Flower Studio (Winner)
Deputy Mayor and Red Boutique (2nd place)
Deputy Mayor and Beckenham Toy Shop (3rd place)

Update on High Street shops

Good news for our High Street, Clintons Cards are staying open. They have a sign up in the window saying “We are pleased to announce that our store is remaining open. We would like to thank our loyal customers for their continued support.”

A new shop had opened at 50 High Street (next to Marks and Spencer). Fee & Brown is an ‘artisan’ coffee shop specialising in coffees and homemade cakes/snacks.

Fanfare for Penge and West Beckenham – free concert 7th July 2012

7 pm Saturday 7th July 2012, Penge Congregational Church, High Street, Penge.

A grand community concert by the Crystal Palace Band , Beckenham Junior Choir & Youth Voices and Royston Primary  School Choir. See flyer below for further information.

Fanfare for Penge and West Beckenham

 

The very full programme of the concert includes, among other numbers, the following music and songs:

Marching Strings (Marshall Ross), Driving in the Park with you (Franz Lehar), Top Hat, White Ties and Tie (Irving Berlin),Downtown (Tony Hatch), Out of the Blue (Hubert Bath), Cricketers of Hambledon (Peter Warlock), Je ne sais pas (Hubert Gregg),  My Heart will go on (James Horner), And this is my Beloved (Borodin), Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White(Louiguy), Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square (Manning Sherwin), Lord of the Dance (Ronan Hardiman), Palatians (Steve Walkley), Frankenstein (Carey Blyton) and begins with Fanfare of Penge (by another Beckenham composer, Gordon Carr).

Fraud prevention booklet launched

Every year the British public loses billions of pounds to ‘scammers’, who bombard people with online, mail, door-to-door and telephone scams.
Officers within the Metropolitan Police Service’s Specialist and Economic Crime Directorate have produced a comprehensive fraud prevention booklet entitled, ‘The Little Book of Big Scams’. The guide explains some of the most common scams in existence, ranging from the simple to the sophisticated and provides the reader with essential advice to reduce the chances of them being parted from their money  – tips are included on how to avoid door to door scams, bank and payment card scams, mobile phone scams, internet scams as well as handy hints everyone can read to protect themselves.
The booklet is available in PDF format here http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/
People from all backgrounds and income levels are targeted by scammers – anyone can fall victim to fraud. This booklet is primarily aimed at the elderly and vulnerable in society as they are particularly at risk; but anyone who reads it will benefit.

Beckenham Town Centre Manager Job Vacancy – applications close 17 June 2012

As some residents and many businesses will know Beckenham is currently without a Town Centre Manager (TCM).  The position is currently being advertised by Bromley Council.   The TCM role is very important for businesses and residents as it is key in promoting Beckenham, securing funding for our town centre, organising events to keep our High Street vibrant and maintaining standards in the street scene by keeping it clean, tidy and safe.

Ever walked down the High Street and thought “why don’t the Council just fix this up” or “let’s have some more events in the town, get everyone out” this could be the job for you.

It would be wonderful if the vacancy was filled by a local person passionate about Beckenham.  Although the majority of the position will focus on Beckenham, we understand the position will also cover other town centres including Penge.

For more information please follow the link below.

Town Centre Manager Job Vacancy

Watch for the tricks of pickpockets and the tell-tale signs

As part of Project Spiderweb, a multi agency collaboration to reduce Theft of Personal Property on all modes of transport in London by 10% by July 2012, the British Transport Police have created some videos shorts that show examples of how thieves work on the transport system.  Check them out at the link below.