Beckenham Green Friends spruce up some unloved spots

Our Beckenham Green Friends Group has been busy planting and weeding some unloved spots in the town.  The forlorn round bed on Beckenham Green is now vibrant with colour. The unsightly patch by the Waitrose sign has been planted with some flowers and hardy shrubs we hope will grow strong and tall (to disguise all the litter and cigarette butts dropped in that area).

If you have any free time to help, or some plants to spare, please contact Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association – email: chairman@coperscope.org.uk

green waitrose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Dental Surgery planned next to Tesco Express

Change of use has been granted for 418-420 Croydon Road, the empty furniture shop between Tesco Express and Regal Dry Cleaners, to convert it to a dental surgery. Oasis Dental practice, based in Bristol, won consent for the long-vacant, ground floor, double unit last week . The earlier application to convert the units to a children’s cafe was withdrawn.

Further details can be found online under reference number 14/01995/FULL3

History of the oldest Residents’ Association in Beckenham

  • Ralph Cropper was Chair of the Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association for 28 years until 1992. We are looking for a photo of him for our project, can you help?

Local historian and author Pat Manning is currently researching the history of our Association right back to its origins as the Copers Cope Ratepayers’ Association established in 1935 to stop factory encroachment at the Worsley Bridge end of Copers Cope Road.  We will keep updating this page with requests for information from Pat.

If you have any memories, stories, documents or photos about the Association or its activities we would love to hear from you, please email chairman@coperscope.org.uk

Southend Road Bridge receives a ‘community facelift’

A fewwall months ago Network Rail undertook some repair to the brickwork on the bridge. However they left it unpainted and unsightly. Copers Coper Area Residents’ Association (CCARA) wrote to Network Rail to enquire when they would be repainting the bridge and were surprised when Network Rail said they had no intention of doing so, it was to be left like this…

Not happy with this outcome CCARA offered to buy the paint and paint it ourselves. After much to-ing and fro-ing Network Rail finally gave permission. Risk Assessments done and paint purchased we needed some volunteers. As luck would have it Citygate Church had a team of community volunteers coming to Beckenham and they offered to paint the bridge.   CCARA would like to thank Citygate Church and Beckenham’s Town Centre Manager for helping us with this project. The bridge now looks clean and fresh.

 

 

 

Save Beckenham’s 107 year old golf course – meeting tomorrow 22 July 2014

Lewisham Council are proposing that the 107 year old public 18 hole golf course at Beckenham Place Park be closed as part of a programme of park improvements, following a lottery award of £4.9 million.

The Friends of Beckenham Place Park are holding a meeting at the Foxgrove Club on Tuesday 22nd July at 8pm to plan and co-ordinate a robust a campaign to save the golf course.

All local people are invited. Please let others know who might be interested in participating in this campaign.

London Borough of Bromley Pharmacy Survey

Bromley Council will be undertaking a detailed ‘Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment’ later in the year. The assessment forms part of a regular review carried out for NHS England to inform decisions about meeting the future pharmacy needs of those who live or work in a particular area.

To help carry out the review Bromley Council would like to invite residents and those who work in the borough to tell them about the pharmacy services they use in the borough. The survey can be found at the link below.

Pharmacy Survey 

The results of the survey will form the draft ‘Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment’ and  the Council will consult on this in October 2014.

 

Proposed open hours reduction of 2 hrs a week for Beckenham Library

To achieve budget savings the Council has consulted on the Borough’s library service. The Council’s recommendations for Beckenham are quoted below, the full report can be found at: BROMLEY LIBRARY SERVICE – OUTCOME OF CONSULTATION

Beckenham Library: 

Council’s Proposal: Closing on Friday at 6pm instead of 8pm, leaving one 8pm closing per
week on Wednesday

  • Alternative Option A: Close on Wednesday at 6pm instead of 8pm, leaving one 8pm closing per week on Friday
  • Alternative Option B: Close on Tuesday at 4pm instead of 6pm
  • Alternative Option C: Open at 10am Monday to Friday instead of 9.30am (a saving of 2.5 hours but needed for consistency)

Survey Findings for Beckenham Library:

  • Of those interviewed at Beckenham Library, 71%, said ‘no’ the Council’s Proposal would not inconvenience them in any way
  • Some 15% said the Council’s Proposal was ‘very inconvenient’ and 9% said it was ‘fairly inconvenient’. The remaining 5% said that whilst it was inconvenient, it was ‘not very inconvenient’
  • Respondents interviewed at Beckenham Library were most likely to say they preferred ‘Alternative Option C’ for reducing the opening hours at the library as indicated by 34% of them (Note: the focus of the interviewing was on the latter part of the day rather than first thing in the morning)

“Tennis for Free” in Beckenham

This scheme run by the Park Langley Club allows you and your family to play tennis for free in Kelsey Park, Croydon Road Recreation Ground and Kings Hall Road.

There is a one off payment of £25 covering the period until end of August 2015. This payment covers all members of the family and includes the cost of the fob that gets you onto the courts. All courts are booked on-line and booking is free of charge.

To find out more check out  www.theparklangleyclub.co.uk/tennis-for-free/

How would you spend £2.4mn to improve Crystal Palace Park. Consultation session Saturday 21st June

pengeandcatorcouncillors's avatarPenge and Cator Councillors

Latest from the Crystal Palace Park Community Stakeholder Group.

The GLA have made £2 million pounds available for regeneration projects in the park. After a number of months work, the CSG along with other stakeholders, have helped to identify an ‘Interim projects list’ of capital projects, to be funded by the GLA money. The projects are drawn from the widely consulted 2007 Masterplan, the Heritage Lottery Fund application and community feedback.

The list covers a wide range of projects, including restoration of the park’s heritage assets (such as the dinosaurs and sphinxes), bringing the concert bowl back into use, landscaping and a skateboard park.

Before a final selection is made the CSG is conducting a consultation with park users to gain your views on the list and to provide feedback. CSG members will be outside the Information Centre in the park (Penge entrance) at 11am – 4pm, Saturday 21st June

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Flood storage to be built in Beckenham Place Park

A consultation is underway on plans to build a large flood storage reservoir in Beckenham Place Park. If built it will have a dramatic effect on the park.

Further information can be found on Lewisham Council’s website at:

Lewisham and Catford Flood Alleviation Scheme

Beckenham residents that use the park may wish to comment on the consultation. The Environment Agency is holding events to get feedback to help shape the final scheme. The events will be held on:

  • Friday 4 July, 10am to 3pm, Lewisham Shopping Centre
  • Thursday 17 July, 10:30am to 1pm, Catford Civic Suite
  • Thursday 17 July, 1:30pm to 3pm , the market on Catford Broadway
  • Saturday 26 July, 10am to 2:30pm, Ravensbourne Community Centre

Alternatively, if you can’t attend on these days but would like more information about the project, you can contact Richard Peddie at the Environment Agency on 01252 729541 or email pso.selondon&nkent@environment-agency.gov.uk.

 

Letter to Bromley Council to take action to save rail service from Beckenham Junction/Kent House/Penge East to St Pancras and beyond

Dear Bromley Council,

The announcement of the new Thameslink and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise has brought unhappy news to Beckenham and Penge residents. The new network map shows that services from Beckenham Junction to St Pancras and beyond will not run for the whole term of the franchise. Those who use and rely on these services will incur disruption to their journey.

During the summer of 2012 the rail franchise consulted on which services from South London (Sutton, Wimbledon, Ashford (via Maidstone East), Rochester, Sevenoaks, Orpington, Beckenham Junction and Kent House) should proceed through the Thameslink core to St Pancras and beyond.  Network Rail recommended that rail services from Wimbledon Loop should terminate at Blackfriars and not go through the core.  Despite the recommendation by Network Rail, Wimbledon trains will go through the core at the expense of those from Beckenham Junction, Kent House and Penge. West London were successful in lobbying to keep their services, Bromley residents lost out.

We want Bromley Council to fight to save our rail service.  So far over 270 local residents have signed a petition to ‘Save train services from Beckenham Junction/Kent House/Penge East to St Pancras and beyond’. People plan their lives around direct commuter services, the proposed change will cause significant disruption to commuters and a vital transport link in the borough will be lost. Further, it is not certain the service from Beckenham Junction/Kent House/Penge to Blackfriars is safe. In 2018 the service will  transfer from Thameslink to South Eastern, when the South Eastern franchise is reviewed in 2015/16 services from Beckenham Junction, Kent House and Penge may face further reduction.

Question for the Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee meeting Tuesday 1 July 2014:

What action is Bromley Council going to take to secure the future of  Thameslink services from Beckenham Junction, Kent House, Penge to St Pancras and beyond, to Blackfriars from 2018, and to lobby for improved/additional commuter rail links from Beckenham Junction onwards?

Members can access the petition at: www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-train-service-from-beckenham-junction-to-st.  We encourage members to read the comments, this is an important issue for local people and one we want action on.

Yours sincerely

Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association

Mary and Bert confirmed for Market On The Green 10am to 4pm

Market On The Green celebrates 50 years of the Mary Poppins film.  Did you know that Julie Andrews used to live in Beckenham?

Mary and Bert will be our special guests at The Market, they will be singing a few of our favourite songs from the film and mingling with market-goers. If you love Mary Poppins why not join in and come as one of the characters from the film.

There will be a fun-fair, face painting, pottery painting, live music, dance, yoga and martial arts. And, of course, the local produce and craft market. We have some wonderful new stalls, check out the Market page for stalls and entertainment line up.

Market On The Green 12 July