Category: News

The Celebration Summer Fair & The Beckenham Bake-off Saturday 18 August, 1.30pm – 6pm

Saturday 18 August, 1.30pm – 6pm
Beckenham Methodist Church, entry in Bevington Road
Event organised by ‘The Hidden Teapot’

No matter the weather, come and join us for fun and frolics at our Summer Fair in Beckenham.
We will also be hosting the Beckenham Bake-off whilst supporting Breast Cancer Care.

What’s it all about? We’re a growing group of like-minded creatives and the Hidden Teapot is where we showcase our work, share our skills and eat cake! There will be taster workshops, our delicious pop-up teashop and the judging of the Beckenham Bake-off! You’ll even be able to get a mini tarot reading. Phew.

Our workshops were a massive hit at the spring event. Suitable for little teapots they will be held on the hour between 2 – 4pm but places are limited. Check the blog for more info.

http://thehiddenteapot.blogspot.co.uk/

9.30 ish this morning, get down to the High Street for music, freebies and Olympic Torch

Beckenham High Street is welcoming the Olympic Torch in style. The Torch is due to pass through the High Street from 9.45 to 10.15, coming down Manor Road along the High Street to the War Memorial. While we are waiting for the Torch there will be music.

Barbershop Choir – Chessingtons Forecourt

Jazz Band – Sainsburys Forecourt

Children’s Choir – War Memorial

Look out for free flags to wave and the many special promotions offered by our retailers, which may include:

Beckenham Toys – face painting, cupcakes and giant bubble toy

Caffe Nero – free coffee and cake samples

Love A Slice – free samples cakes

Zizzi’s – tasty food buffet

Odeon cinema and Bricklayers Arms – special early opening

Wimpy – Mister Wimpy (man in costume) outside premises

Villager sausages – free samples of cooked sausages

Blockbusters video – free samples popcorn and fizzy drinks

Mr Simms sweetshop – free sweet samples

Beckenham High Street Olympic Celebration – tomorrow 9.30 am Monday 23 July – free event

Beckenham High Street is welcoming the Olympic Torch in style. The Torch is due to pass through the High Street from 9.45 to 10.15, coming down Manor Road along the High Street to the War Memorial. While we are waiting for the Torch there will be music.

Barbershop Choir – Chessingtons Forecourt

Jazz Band – Sainsburys Forecourt

Children’s Choir – War Memorial

Look out for free flags to wave and the many special promotions offered by our retailers, which may include:

Beckenham Toys – face painting, cupcakes and giant bubble toy

Caffe Nero – free coffee and cake samples

Love A Slice – free samples cakes

Zizzi’s – tasty food buffet

Odeon cinema and Bricklayers Arms – special early opening

Wimpy – Mister Wimpy (man in costume) outside premises

Villager sausages – free samples of cooked sausages

Blockbusters video – free samples popcorn and fizzy drinks

Mr Simms sweetshop – free sweet samples

London Borough of Bromley Trading Standards Warning

London Borough of Bromley Trading Standards have received intelligence relating to an individual, who gives his name as RICHARD GREEN (aka Richard Green Larry) cold calling residents and claiming to be from Trading Standards.

His MO is to cold call residents claiming that work needs doing on their roof. Intelligence also suggests that he is using the name AQUASHIELD and says that he is ‘investigating’ the company who had carried out previous work to the consumer’s property.

It has been reported that he may be working with two other suspects posing as builders

One description gives Green as an – IC1male – 40 to 50 yrs (possibly 60) – medium build – short – shaved head – tanned – wearing a black plastic/leather jacket. He wears an ID card on lanyard around neck possibly with a blue edge.

L B Croydon has reported that two victims in their area have lost £800 and £2000 respectively to this individual.

We are also aware of a previous incident in Havering and a couple of incidences have been reported recently in Surrey .

Scam warnings from Police

1. A booklet has recently been produced about scams, which may interest you. You can see the e-version of the booklet on the Met Police website, by clicking through fraud alert on the website.
Here is the link: http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/docs/mps_little_book_big_scams.pdf

2. Watch out for emails claiming to be from the DVLA asking you to verify your driving licence details via an online link – it’s a scam.

The DVLA has not sent any such email, so if you get one delete it immediately. This is a copy of the email that is circulating:

From: DVLA Subject: Update Your License Details
We are currently upgrading our database and all drivers are required to update and verify their driver’s license details. To complete your license verification with us, you are required to fill out the form in the link below.

{Fake link}

Drivers that refuse to upgrade his or her details within two weeks of receiving this verification email will lose his or her driver’s License and will have to take a fresh driving test.

We sincerely apologise for any inconveniences this might have caused you.
Thank you for your co-operation.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Swansea SA6 7JL

3. You may receive a phone call from an intruder alarm company saying that ‘home intrusion’ is up in your ‘postcode’ area (latest Home Office figures) and that you have been selected for a free Group 1 Security wireless system, one of only 3 to be approved by the police. Covers fire, medical and security monitoring.

Please consider the Police advice that is: ‘never deal with Cold Callers’ and only use companies known or recommended to you. Many cold callers do not offer good value for money.

Beckenham Police advise of rise of thefts on High Street

Recently in Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee in Beckenham High Street we have seen a rise in thefts from/of bags and mobile phones.

Bags are being left on the back of chairs some open some not and then they are dipped or in some cases stolen.

Mobile phones are being left on the table and the suspects are coming in handing out leaflets and either putting them on top off or next to mobile phones, once the conversation is finished the suspect then picks up the leaflet along with the phone. People are distracted by the conversation and then don’t realise until a little later that there phone has been taken.

We advise that everyone keeps there bag and phone in sight at all times or on there person.

Basil Restaurant, Old Police Station, Beckenham – licence granted

Bromley Council have granted the licence for Basil Restaurant. The application was granted the subject to the following hours and conditions:

1. Hours of Operation

  • Sunday – Thursday 11:00 – 23.00
  • Friday – Saturday 11:00 – 23:30

2. Sale of alcohol

  • Sunday – Thursday 11:00 – 22:30
  • Friday – Saturday 11:00 – 23:00

3. Regulated Entertainment

  • Sunday 13:00 – 17:00 and 19:00 – 22:00
  • Thursday 19:00 – 22:00

Controversial Glades planning application for restaurants in Queens Gardens – refused

Last week Bromley Council refused the planning application to build restaurants in Queens Gardens (behind the Glades, adjacent to Kentish Way). The application has caused controversy as part of the land is in a conservation area, the new restaurant chains may take trade away from the recently regenerated Bromley North area and a view that Bromley is currently too saturated with restaurants (what will happen to the site if the new restaurants are not profitable).

Beckenham Town Centre Working Group Update – July 2012

Since we last blogged the working group has met three times. The following improvements have been agreed by the Working Group and endorsed by the Council.

  • Appoint urban design consultant to prepare a scheme and design guide for visual improvement of the High Street to be coordinated with other improvements i.e. relating to signage, shop fronts, lighting, traffic management, etc.
  • Installation of a Beckenham Town Sign of similar design as Beckenham Green example at the War Memorial entrance to the High Street.
  • Improve signage to off street car parks.
  • Install 2 high quality community notice boards (possibly incorporating maps).
  • Installation of extra lighting for pedestrians over footways.
  • Control access to private alleyways and parking areas (including gating – however our Association does not support gating as this may increase the perception of crime and may change the feel of the High Street, we prefer alleys to be well lit and cleaned.)
  • Coordinated installation of upgraded heritage street lamps and furniture.
  • Decluttering exercise to achieve removal of unnecessary signs, poles & equipment – including unmaintained telephone boxes; reduction of the number of posts on the footways.
  • Floodlight heritage buildings and signs with up-lighters to enhance night time atmosphere.
  • Improve siting and external cleanliness of litter bins.
  • Christmas Lights.

The Council appointed design consultants in May to prepare a scheme and design guide for visual improvement of the High Street. The scheme will form the basis of a bid for secure funding for Town Centre Regeneration from Transport for London that is due to go up in September.

In June the design consultants organised an evening walk around the High Street for members of the Working Group, including our Association, to give their views on what areas of the High Street they would like improved and what features of the High Street they would like to be enhanced.

This week the group met again to review  the proposed improvements and discuss the outcomes from the evening walk. We are expecting to see a first draft of the design in August and will report back.

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 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.