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

Car Club to come to Beckenham

Bromley Council are proposing to expand Car Clubs in the borough. Car Clubs allow members to hire a locally parked car or van by the hour.

Currently there are only two dedicated car club spaces in the borough, Sherman Road, Bromley North (operated by City Car Club) and Orpington High Street (operated by Hertz on Demand). The council plan to create 15 new spaces of which the following will be in Beckenham.

  • Albemarle Road (southern side of Albemarle Road, nearest the junction with St Georges Road)
  • Brackley Road (north-eastern side of Brackley Road, nearest to the junction with Worsley Bridge Road)
  • Church Avenue (south-western side of Church Avenue, nearest to the junction with The Drive)
  • Park Road (north-eastern side of Park Road, nearest to the junction with Ingleside Close)
  • Cedars Road (north-eastern side of Cedars Road, nearest the junction with Clock House Road)
  • Ravenscroft Road (south-eastern side of Ravenscroft Road, nearest to the junction with Pelham Road)

Further information can be found on the Council’s website:

Car Club

Ma Kelly’s Doorstep – Free play for residents

London Borough of Bromley’s Trading Standards and the Safer Bromley Partnership are delighted to bring you:
Ma Kelly’s Doorstep

A free theatre production by the Attic Theatre Co.

A fun and informative play lasting around 1 hour, with a song or two, for older audiences about the serious issue of bogus doorstep callers and scams and how we can protect ourselves from them.

FREE entry to all shows, including tea and biscuits.

Come along to see Ma Kelly’s Doorstep in Bromley on:

Wednesday 14th March at 10.15am at Whitfield Hall United Reform Church, 20 Widmore Road, Bromley BR1 1RY

Thursday 15th March, 2.30pm at Anerley Town Hall
Anerley Road, London, SE20 8BD

Friday 16th March at 2pm at Bromley Central Library,
4th floor, Bromley BR1 1EX

Just turn up on the day or to guarantee a seat RSVP to Amanda Davis on
020 8313 4395 or email Amanda.davis@bromley.gov.uk

Beckenham Spring Fair 17 and 18 March

Beckenham Green, next to St Georges Church
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 March

This year there will be an Italian Market from 9am to 5pm, a mini fun fair for children up to the age of 10 from 11am, and more children’s entertainment throughout the day (Punch & Judy shows, balloon modelling, magic etc).

Plus local company Reptile Events will be showing their snakes and lizards.

This fun family event has been organised by our Town Centre Manager Nicola Musto (www.bromley.gov.uk).

Beckenham Concert Band – Sat 31st March – St Georges Church

The Beckenham Concert Band is presenting a concert aid of St Christopher’s Hospice at St Georges Church, High Street, Beckenham on Saturday 31st March. The programme will be varied ranging from Marches to Musicals and Classics to Jazz. Admission is free with a retiring collection for the Hospice.

Further details can be found on our website: www.beckenhamconcertband.com and on the St. Christopher’s website www.stchristophers.org.uk

epetition to get the provision of public toilets made compulsory

The ‘we need the loo!’ national campaign has launched an epetition to get the provision of public toilets made compulsory.

Currently Local Authorities do not have to provide public toilets and many Councils are closing the few facilities that
do exist to save money. ‘we need the loo! want Parliament to pass a law making the provision of public toilets compulsory.

As you may know the public toilets in Beckenham were earmarked for closure by Bromley Council. Thanks to much campainging by local groups (including the CCARA) and residents the closure plans have been shelved… for now.

We urge residents to support this campaign. The epetition can be found at the link below.

Why do we need public toilets?
  • Good public toilet provision enables everyone to participate fully in civic life.
  • Public toilets are needed if we want people to increase their use of public transport and walk and cycle more.
  • Better facilities will help to attract visitors and boost local economies.
  • Lack of public toilets causes many elderly and
  • Disabled people to stay at home because they cannot rely on access to a loo when out and about.
  • Lack of public toilets leads to street urination and fouling which spreads disease.
  • Delays in answering “nature’s call” can increase infections and other health problems.
  • Community toilets are not always suitable; some people find going into pubs etc unacceptable.
Find out more about the campaign

The Queen to visit Bromley on 15 May 2012

As part of London’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh will visit Bromley on 15 May 2012.

Bromley borough was selected to be part of a special tour to commemorate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.

The Leader of Bromley Council Stephen Carr: “We are delighted and honoured that the Queen will be visiting Bromley and look forward to showcasing what our borough has to offer.”

“As one of only three south London boroughs to host a visit, we are keen to play our part and pay tribute to an extraordinary monarch.”

“This year is an exciting year for Bromley and such a special event will make it even more memorable.”

The Queen last visited our borough in 1986 during her Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Further details about the visit will be released in the coming weeks.

Beckenham Town Centre Working Group

Report from meeting held on 09 Feb 2012

The Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association attended the working group on Thursday evening. The meeting was also attended by our local councillors, Bromley Council portfolio holders from Traffic, Renewal & Recreation, Beckenham Town Centre Manager, the Beckenham Civic Society, Central Beckenham Residents’ Association and West Beckenham Residents’ Association.

Bromley Council decided to reconvene the Beckenham Town Centre Working Group after the Town Centre bid to secure funds from the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund was unsuccessful.

A further bid for funds may be put up by the Council later this year. The group highlighted the following improvements to Beckenham Town Centre to included in a further bid.

  • Improvement of pedestrian experience at ‘natural’ crossing points (e.g. opposite Sainsbury’s, and at corner with Village Way).
  • Review the positioning and pavement width at bus stop points.
  • Could Town Centre have street markets, possibly in front of Public Toilets?
  • Prioritise Beckenham heritage. Repair our town clocks. Creation of a heritage trail.
  • Removal of unnecessary street furniture, minimising/upgrading signage, cleaning up of forecourts & car parks.
  • Reduction of HGV usage of High Street.
  • Review and propose solutions for traffic flow problems (e.g. Beckenham Junction/Albermarle Road).
  • Enhancement of War Memorial area and approach to High Street.
The Copers Cope Residents’ Association is interested in your views, please comment on this blog or email us at chairman@coperscope.org.uk


Bromley Council secure funding to assist elderly in keeping warm through the winter

Every year mortality rises by 19% in the winter months in England ; amounting to an average of 27,000 excess winter deaths. Low temperatures are associated with an increase of heart attacks, strokes, respiratory disease, hypothermia and falls and injuries; where the elderly and people with existing conditions are most at risk.

Bromley Council has been successful in securing funding with the aim of protecting people’s health through the cold winter months. Help is available in the form of:

  • Information and advice on how to keep warm and healthy
  • Assistance with benefit entitlement and claims
  • Grants and loans for housing efficiency improvements
  • Practical help for people leaving hospital
  • Assistance with shopping
  • Limited funding for warmth packs

Age UK is acting as the central referral team to help residents of Bromley stay warm and healthy this winter. If you know someone who is vulnerable and in need of assistance help and advice is available through Age UK Bromley and Greenwich’s cold weather advice line on 0208 315 1878.

Email Scam – ‘Population Census: a message to everyone – act now’

Police are aware that an email entitled ‘Population Census: a message to everyone – act now’ is being circulated, allegedly in the name of National Statistician, Jil Matheson. This email demands individuals provide further personal information, supposedly for the Census and threatens fines for non-compliance.

This email is a scam and a hoax. It has no connection whatsoever with the National Statistician, the 2011 Census or the Office for National Statistics.

It is believed the links in the email could download malware to any computer where the user clicks on the links. This could put your personal data, including financial information, at risk.

Anyone receiving this, or similar emails, should delete them, not open any links and certainly not provide any information.


Novel set in Beckenham – ‘Meeting Lydia’ by Linda MacDonald

Author, Linda MacDonald, is a part time teacher of Psychology at a Sixth Form College, living in Beckenham. Her first novel is partly set in Beckenham.

Novel Description:

‘Now 46, when Marianne finds her charming husband in the kitchen talking to the glamorous Charmaine, her childhood insecurities resurface and their once-happy marriage begins to slide. Teenage daughter Holly persuades her to join Friends Reunited, which results in both fearful and nostalgic memories of prep school as Marianne wonders what has become of the bullies and of Edward Harvey. Frantic to repair her marriage, yet rendered snappy and temperamental by her plummeting hormones, her attempts towards reconciliation fail. The answer to all her problems could lie in finding Edward again…But what would happen if she found what she seeks?

Meeting Lydia is a book about childhood bullying, midlife crises, obsession, jealousy and the ever-growing trend of internet relationships. It will appeal to fans of adult fiction and those interested in the dynamics and psychology of relationships.’

Bank card scam warning

Bromley Police are reissuing their warning about a scam in which fraudsters are obtaining people’s bank cards, after numerous attempts to perpetrate this scam across the borough in the last month.

The scam works by the victim initially receiving a phone call, or number of phone calls, from someone claiming to be from their bank or credit card supplier. The caller obtains personal details from the victim before advising them that they need a new card and telling them that a courier will visit them shortly to collect their old card. A person, dressed to look like a courier, then arrives at the door to take the card.

A spokesman for Bromley Police said: “Never-ever disclose your bank details to anyone cold calling, banks will never call you asking for personal or account information as they already have these details, and neither will the Police. If there is a problem with your card and it needs to be replaced the bank will write to you advising you to cut the card up. They will never arrange for it to be collected by a courier. You should never give out bank details or other personal information over the phone, whatever the reason behind the request”.