Category: News

News regarding vacant shops on the High Street

There are 11 empty units up and down the High Street and Croydon Road – representing a vacancy rate of around 4.89% and although we have had an increase in empty units over the past six weeks, our High Street figures are still well below the national average of 14%.

Jazz –  new lease being negotiated, details not available at present time.

Fireplace shop adjacent to War Memorial – new lease agreed with “Vanilla”, a pavement café/restaurant/bar.

Zenith Windows – new lease being negotiated, details not available at present time.

The Children Society charity shop, Thomsons Travel and Blockbusters  – are empty, nothing known regarding any new lessees.

Chessington’s garage – is rumoured to be reopening as another garage,  the lease is not being advertised, no further details known. 

Fireworks shop (ex Greggs) – having work done on interior, no further details known.

PopUp Shops

Rather than shops remaining empty we would like to see them utilised as PopUp Shops until permanent tenants can be found.  If  you have contact details, or the name of the  landlord or owner, of any of the vacant units, we’d be grateful if you could let us know so we may approach them regarding putting a PopUp Shop in their premises.

 

World Book Day Celebrations at Beckenham Library Friday 4 March 2013

Celebrate World Book Day at Beckenham Library at the “Once upon a Storytime” for children aged 4-7 years. Listen to favourite fairy stories and make a book of fairy tales yourself. Friday 8th March – the fun starts at 4pm.
Free tickets available in advance from Beckenham Library – 020 8650 7292.

Plus, of course, you’ll find a world of books at Beckenham’s own independent bookshop 9am-5.30pm at 42 High Street.

Planning application for trees outside 2A Bromley Grove, 33 The Avenue and 14 Westgate Road

New applications regarding trees in public spaces can be found below.

Residents who require further information can look up the planning application on Bromley Council website at the link below using the relevant planning reference.

Bromley Council Planning

Planning Reference: 13/00522/TREE

2A Bromley Grove – cut back selected branches to give a clearance of 2 metres from the property and crown lift to give a clearance of no more than six metres above ground level

Planning Reference: 13/00551/TPO

33 The Avenue –  1 robinia and cut back 1 yew and 1 original by 1 robinia by 1 metre, all in back garden SUBJECT TO TPO 1419.
Planning Reference: 13/00577/TPO
14 Westgate Road – Fell 1 pine tree beside parking area SUBJECT TO PO 2267.
Any residents who wish to comment on a tree planning application can do so, within the consultation period, by writing or email (planning@bromley.gov.uk). You must ensure that you quote the planning reference and provide your full name and address including your post code.  Failure to provide these details will mean your comments will not be not accepted.
 

Planning application for flats above Barclays Bank

A planning application to build  a two storey extension to provide 8 self contained flats (6 x 2 bedroom and 2 x 1 bedroom) above the Barclays Bank has been submitted.  The previous application to build flats above the bank was refused. 

Details can be found on Bromley Councils website at the link below:

3 Beckenham Road Beckenham BR3 4ES

Any residents who wish to comment on the planning application must do so before Thursday 7 March 2012.  You can comment by email to planning@bromley.gov.uk  (Reference: 13/00407/FULL), however you must ensure that you provide your full name and address including your post code.  Failure to provide these details will mean your comments will not be not accepted.

 

SCAM – Caller advises they are from BT

You receive a call, claiming to be from BT, saying you are being disconnected due to an unpaid bill.  Payment of around £30 (by credit card) is demanded and you are reminded it will cost £118.00 to reconnect at a later date.  The caller isn’t fazed if you say you are with Virgin Media (VM has to pay BT for line rental).  If asked for a name and number, the name will likely be very English but with a distinctly foreign accent and the number given is 0800 0800 152 (BT’s number is actually 0800 800 152)
The caller will “prove” he/she is from BT by suggesting you hang up and try calling someone else.  Your telephone will appear “dead”.  This is not that clever; the caller simply stays on the line with the mute button on so you can’t dial out (only the initiator can terminate a call). When you stop trying, the caller hangs up and immediately rings back.
This scam could easily fool the vulnerable and it’s not about the £30 – this would be blocked by Merchant Services – it’s all about accessing your credit card details including the Security Number so it can be used for far larger purchases!  Please pass on this warning.

The Virtuoso Bassoon Concert – 7.45pm Sat 2 Mar 2013, St George’s Church Beckenham

The Virtuoso Bassoon – Saturday 2nd March 2013 7.45pm

  • Vivaldi Concerto for Strings in D RV121
  • Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in C RV471
  • Telemann Overture ‘La Lyra’
  • Vivaldi Flute concerto in G minor ‘La Notte’ RV439
  • Handel Concerto Grosso in D minor op.6 no.10
  • Telemann Concerto for flute and bassoon

Emma Harding – Bassoon – SGCO principal, guest co-principal LSO, LPO, RPO.
Stewart McIlwham – Flute – SGCO/LPO principal and President London Philharmonic
Dominic Moore – Director

Tickets £12 / £10 concessions / £5 under 25s.

Book in advance from The Beckenham Bookshop and St. George’s Church Office (Monday to Friday until 3.30pm). Best seats will be reserved for pre-concert sales.

Tickets also available on-line at www.stgeorgesbeckenham.co.uk and on the door.
St. George’s Church is on the corner of High Street and Bromley Road Beckenham BR3 1AX.

 

Beckenham’s famous Blytons exhibition at Central Library until 8 Feb 2013

An exhibition showcasing Beckenham’s beloved children’s author Enid Blyton and her composer nephew Carey Blyton is now open and runs until 8 February 2013.

The ‘Carey’s Aunt and Enid’s Nephew’ exhibition will be displayed at Bromley Local Studies and Archives on the second floor of the Central Library, with highlights including some of Enid’s published works and Carey’s musical scores. Beckenham historian, Cliff Watkins, compares the lives of, and traces the links between, the famous Blytons of Beckenham and the ongoing legacy left by them.

“Our towns have been inventive and creative hotbeds over the years and have produced many famous faces, including the much loved author Enid Blyton and her talented nephew. This exhibition will reveal the links in their lives and facts about their works. To find out more about these household names for yourself, why not come along to the Central Library” said Catrin Holland, Archivist at Bromley Local Studies and Archives.

Much-loved children’s author Enid Blyton lived in Beckenham from 1897 to 1929 and had more than 7,000 works published, which include the Famous Five, Noddy, the Secret Seven and the Faraway Tree. Come along to the exhibition and see some of the 7,000 works published by Enid as novels, poems and short stories in magazines
and periodicals.

Her nephew, the composer Carey Blyton, lived in Beckenham from 1932 to 1962 and composed more than 150 works, including the first ever music for Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Carey Blyton worked for 5 years with Britain’s most famous 20th century composer, Benjamin Britten. Some of his most evocative works were written during the 1950s when he and friends created The Beckenham Salon. Examples of some of Carey’s works will also be on display, including the scores of his Victorian Melodramas and his book of nonsense poems.

Bromley Local Studies and Archives is located at the Central Library in Bromley town centre. It is open Monday to Saturday and offers resources going back hundreds of years, on topics related to the local area. It has specialist collections on The Crystal Palace, Walter de la Mare and H.G. Wells and works closely with the Bromley
Museum based at The Priory, Orpington. It also houses the archives for the borough and has extensive family history resources. A range of local history publications for sale are available from the local studies library.

Public Meeting regarding services provided at Beckenham Beacon – 2pm 7 February 2013, Harry Lyne Room, Beckenham Beacon

Public Meeting: 2pm, Thursday 7 February 2013, in the Harry Lyne Room at the Beckenham Beacon, 379 Croydon Road, Beckenham.

A statement about the future of Beckenham Beacon from Dr Andrew Parson

Dear patients and residents

As you know, since 2007 Beckenham Beacon has provided a range of well-used and much-valued NHS healthcare services for people in the north of Bromley.

In recent weeks I’ve become aware of uncertainty among some patients and residents about its future, and of claims that it will close as a result of the work being done by the Trust Special Administrator for South London Healthcare NHS Trust.

I would like to assure you that Beckenham Beacon will not close. It will continue to be a site where NHS healthcare services will be provided.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust currently occupies about 45 percent of the space. If the TSA’s recommendations for healthcare in south east London are agreed by the Government, the main change will be that South London Healthcare NHS Trust will probably no longer provide services at Beckenham Beacon.

Instead, services will be put in place by the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group and we still plan to use Beckenham Beacon for general practice and other health services.

Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group is a group of Bromley GPs and other NHS healthcare professionals who are responsible for planning and buying services for people across Bromley.

We operate in ‘shadow’ form at the moment, but will be a statutory body from April 2013 when Bromley PCT will cease to exist.

Our plans are at an early stage, but we know that we still want to have GP and practice nurse services, access to a service dealing with minor injuries, and a range of outpatient and diagnostic services and tests such as blood tests and X-rays, delivered at Beckenham Beacon. We are also looking at options around other primary and community care services.

Our aim is to make sure that Beckenham Beacon continues to provide the kinds of services that you, your family and other residents of Bromley need: both now and in the future.

As our plans develop, we will make sure that we tell you about them. The Bromley Clinical Commissioning Committee has regular meetings in public which everyone is welcome to attend. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 7 February 2013, in the Harry Lyne Room at the Beckenham Beacon, 379 Croydon Road, Beckenham. It will start at 2pm. For more information, please visit the NHS South East London website.

Many thanks

Dr Andrew Parson
Clinical Chair
Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group