ITV1 Martin Lewis Money Show in Beckenham

The ITV1 Martin Lewis Money Show is filming in the Bromley area this week for a piece on car and home insurance.

Martin is looking for local residents who would be interested in saving money on their car and home insurance. His team of financial researchers would find the best deal using Martin’s expert tips. “We would then use them as a case study to help viewers in a similar situation.

Last year we were able to save one family a significant amount of money on their car insurance we’d love to do this again for someone!”

Anyone interested they should contact Becky Colls on 02071574368 or 07798925985.

Next Weekend – Market On The Green and Heritage Trail Launch – Sat 19 Oct 2013

Lots of free things to do around Beckenham Town Centre on Saturday 19 October.

  • Take a miniature version of the Heritage trail and get a goodie bag.
  • Meet Mr and Mrs Becks from our town sign, Charlie Chaplin and other historical characters.
  • Check out a vintage fire engine parked outside the old fire station.
  • Pick up some free toffee apples and marshmallows (while stocks last).
  • See a Punch and Judy Show outside Sainsbury’s forecourt.
  • Enjoy some free entertainment on Beckenham Green: 1920-40’s Saxophone Quartet from Beckenham, Andrews Sisters Tribute, David Bowie Tribute.
  • Visit the Ponies on Beckenham Green – yes there will be real ponies, they’ll even be doing a trick show. Kids can ride the Ponies too, although there is a charge for this.

There will also be lots of great hot food, produce and craft to buy from 10am at the Market, plus vintage fair rides for the kids. Check out the market page to see which stalls are confirmed so far.

At 11am the Heritage Trail will be officially opened and there will be a Tree Planting Ceremony to mark the launch of the trail and commemorate lives lost in the 1944 bombing on the site of The Green.

Market & Heritage Trail

The Best Night of the Proms – St Paul’s Church Beckenham 7.30pm Sat 26 Oct 2013

The Best Night of the Proms featuring the Lewisham Concert Band and the St Paul’s Concert Choir

On Saturday 26 October at 7.30pm. Doors open 7.00pm, Encore 9.30pm

Flags, wine and soft drinks for sale.

Raising money for Help for Heroes and St Paul’s Church Away Weekend.

Tickets £8 available after church services, phone 020 8658 7702, and on the door. St Paul’s Church, Beckenham, Brackley Rd Beckenham, Kent BR3 1RB

SGCO Anniversary Concert – 7.45pm Sat 12th Oct 2013, St George’s Church

The SGCO’s next concert is at 7.45 pm Saturday 12 October at St George’s Church, Beckenham.

Anniversary Concert – opening our 10th Season 

  • SGCO OctHandel Concerto Grosso in A minor op.6 no.4
  • Marcello Oboe Concerto in C minor
  • Vivaldi Autumn from the 4 Seasons
  • Mozart Divertimento in F K138
  • Puccini Crisantemi
  • Bach Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor BWV 1060
  • Owen Dennis SGCO Principal oboe
  • Dominic Moore Violin – Musical Director SGCO

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 http://www.stgeorgesbeckenham.co.ukand on the door.

St. George’s Church is on the corner of High Street and Bromley Road Beckenham BR3 1AX.

Council confirm 100% Housing Association Flats at Stables Green / Rear of 86-94 High Street

Bromley Council (LBB) has confirmed that the development behind Pierluigi’s restaurant  will provide  28 x Affordable Rent and 16 Shared Ownership. There will be ZERO for private sale. This is a far cry from the planning permission granted that was based on 5 x Affordable Rent, 10 Shared Ownership and 29 for private sale.

Following the granting of planning permission, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has funded the developer L&Q  to provide 100% social housing.  We wrote to the GLA to ask the rationale for changing the accommodation mix that had previously been assessed and agreed between the Council and Developer, to ask why they did not seek feedback from the local community as the changes represent a significant change to the development; and to note local objection to 100% social housing and none for private sale.  Our Cllrs also objected to 100% social housing.

Due to strong opposition Richard Blakeway, the Deputy Mayor of Housing for the GLA,  met with LBB Council. LBB also objected to the site being used solely for social housing, but the GLA were committed to the social housing scheme. LBB also suggested 100% Shared Ownership for the site but this was not supported by the GLA. LBB were able to negotiate a better mix between Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership (the original social housing proposal was 37 Affordable Rent  and 7 x Shared Ownership, the current proposal has 16 Shared Ownership the rest Affordable Rent).

Despite local opposition the GLA did not support any private sale units in this development.  A site of 50% social housing and 50% private sale or even 34% private sale, 33% Affordable Rent and 33% Social Housing would offer a more diverse accommodation mix.

Residents wishing to comment further may wish to contact one or more of the following:

  • The Mayor’s Office by email mayor@london.gov.uk  or post Mayor’s Office, GLA,  City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA
  • James Cleverly (Bromley and Bexley London Assembly Member) by email james.cleverly@london.gov.uk or post GLA, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA
  • Bob Stewart MP by email bob.stewart.mp@parliament.uk or post Parliament Office, Bob Stewart DSO MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

Please ensure you state your name, address and post code in your correspondence to ensure your objections are registered.

Save the date – Market and Heritage Trail Launch Saturday 19 Oct 2013

The next Market On The Green is being twinned with the launch of the long awaited Beckenham Heritage Trail. The trail takes you past 23 historical points and you will be following in the footsteps of some well known names associated with Beckenham including children’s author Enid Blyton; poet and composer Carey Blyton; entertainer Bob Monkhouse; actor Julie Andrews; singer David Bowie; and former Prime Minister Sir John Major. There will be lots to see and do throughout the town centre to celebrate the launch.

Do a miniature version of the trail 

  • Kids can collect stamps at 9 trail points along the High Street and get a goodie bag if they complete the trail.
  • You will meet lots of interesting people along the way and finish at the Market On The Green.

Along the High Street

  • Meet Charlie Chaplin and other historical characters.
  • Check out a vintage fire engine parked outside the old fire station.
  • Pick up some free toffee apples and marshmallows (while stocks last).
  • See a Punch and Judy Show outside Sainsbury’s forecourt.

Market On The Green

  • Tree Planting Ceremony at 11 to mark the launch of the trail and commemorate lives lost in the 1942 bombing on the site of The Green.
  • Entertainment will be a 1920-40’s Saxophone Quartet from Beckenham, Andrews Sisters Tribute, a David Bowie Tribute, plus a pony display show.
  • Lots of great hot food, produce and craft stalls. Check out the market page to see which stalls are confirmed so far.
  • For the kids there will be pony rides, fun fair, pottery painting and face painting.
  • Mr & Mrs Becks (from our town sign) will be making their debut at the Market too.
  • Councillor Surgery Sessions at the Copers Cope Area Residents Association at midday. Your chance to talk to one of the Copers Cope Councillors.

Public Meeting Tonight- Council Budget Savings – 7pm Mon 30 Sept, Citygate Church, Beckenham

Bromley Council public meeting regarding budget cuts to find savings of £55 million need to be made over the next four years is tonight 7pm to 8.30pm Monday 30 September at Citygate Church, Rectory Road, Beckenham, BR3 1AA.

Further information can be found on the Council website.

<a href=”http://www.bromley.gov.uk/press/article/723/a_meeting_to_talk_about_building_a_better_bromley”>Budget Meeting – A meeting to talk about Building a Better Bromley</a>

1 hour free parking at Sainsbury’s Beckenham with instore spend

Starting on Tuesday 01 October 2013 Beckenham Sainsbury’s will refund 50p (1 hour) worth of parking when you spend £10 instore. The new tickets issued at their
Village Way car park will be in two parts, one for proof of parking and the other is a coupon to bring into store.

Sainsbury’s in Beckenham has 265 parking spaces so plenty of room for shoppers wishing to take advantage of the refundable parking.

First and third floors of 30 High Street – needs planning permission to change from proposed B & B to 15 bedsits

In September 2012 Bromley Council gave permission for the floors above 30 High Street to be turned into a Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Since then the owner has changed plans and  now wishes to create 15 bedsits instead. Local businesses and residents objected to this and the Council has ruled that the owner cannot change to create bedsits without prior planning approval.  We will let you know if the owner makes a fresh application to change the first and third floors of 30 High Street, currently office space, into bedsits.

Safer Neighbourhood Panel Meeting Update Sept 2013

At the September Safer Neighbourhood Panel meeting our Copers Cope Ward dedicated Police Officer confirmed that it’s all change for the policing system. However there was no clear explanation yet of how the merging of six Wards is going to affect the local panels apart from the reassurance that dedicated officers will be retained. We hope to bring you a clear explanation after the December meeting.

Meanwhile, whilst crime rates remain low level, there were a total of seventeen burglaries in the Ward between end of July and mid-September, nine of these from residences and garages. So do check windows and doors are secured, especially at the rear of property, and see if you can improve the security or lighting on your garage.

With more than twenty motor vehicle crimes reported over this period, this is still an issue. Some of these were theft of number plates, so if you don’t have them already, consider changing to tamper-proof nuts for your plates.

Two local policing priorities were set for the next period up to mid-December, namely burglaries, and drunk & disorderly behaviour, especially around the High Street, on The Green, and on Sainsbury’s forecourt.

Don’t let a little rain put you off – Beckenham Festival TODAY, 2pm Croydon Rd Rec – Kids under 10 go free

An afternoon in Croydon Road Recreation Ground to celebrate David Bowie (Beckenham’s most famous former Beckenham resident, the legacy of the Arts Laboratory he co-founded, and the sensational Free Festival that Arts Lab members staged on the Bandstand in the park in 1969) and raise money to restore the Bandstand

Gates open at 2 pm for the Festival which will see 3 hours of live music from 3 to 6. The Thin White Duke a Bowie tribute band will perform 5 Bowie numbers including ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Space Oddity’. There will also be 30 arts & craft stalls, food and refreshment stalls, Bowie themed face painting and a raffle. A modest entry fee of £5 for each adult will raise funds to restore the historic bandstand. Kids under 10 go free.

Bromley Police Station Open Day, Sunday 22 Sept 2013

This event will give a rare and behind-the-scenes glimpse at what goes on inside a police station and see some of the vehicles, specialist units, equipment and resources that the MPS has at its disposal. Visitors and residents will also be able to talk to local Senior Police Officers about policing in their area and will be on hand to give out crime prevention advice and material.

Safer Transport Teams will be carrying out free cycle security marking of bicycles and registering the details on BikeRegister to help tackle and prevent cycle crime. Members of the public can attend the police station in Bromley High Street anytime between 10-4pm where they will be greeted by Borough Police Officers and given a talk and tour of the station and an opportunity to ask questions.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has said:

“I want the Met to be an open organisation. We are accountable to the public. These open days symbolise that openness – and I hope people enjoy looking around their local station.”

“We are very clear that we are here to serve London and by inviting the public into our police stations we can give an insight to our daily work to keep them safe and tackle criminals.”

For more information check out the Police website.

Bromley Police

 

Latest on Penge High Street roadworks

pengeandcatorcouncillors's avatarPenge and Cator Councillors

Penge_TW2 (1)The council has told us:  “We can confirm that Thames Water have taken responsibility for this situation and we will carefully monitor works undertaken by MGJV (Morrison Galliford Joint Venture), the Thames Water contractor.  The close-up picture as attached shows something of the seriousness of this situation and indicates that this is a major piece of work which needs to be undertaken. 

It is not clear to us at present what the exact extent of the void is and we understand that exploratory survey work tomorrow will hopefully establish the exact nature of the situation.  Realistically, the results of this work will inform the estimated duration of any work but the repair work could take up to 2 weeks but I will update you with a revised estimate in due course.    

As you are probably aware, the official traffic diversion is Croydon Road, SE20 – Elmers End Road…

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High Street Carriageway Collapse

pengeandcatorcouncillors's avatarPenge and Cator Councillors

As you may have heard on the ITV London news tonight, part of the carriageway in Penge High Street by the Penge Turkish Bakery collapsed yesterday afternoon leaving a 12 foot square crater.  Officers inform us that meetings are behing held with Thames Water to determine the cause.  In the meantime, the bus lane is not operational to assist traffic flows in the area.  We will keep you informed of future developments.

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Kent County Cricket Ground Planning Application for Spectator Stand

Leander Sports and Leisure who have outline planning permission to redevelop and regenerate Kent County Cricket Ground on Worsley Bridge Road have submitted a planning application for a Permanent spectator stand (capacity 2,048 seats) and associated landscaping including remodelling of earth mound. The application can be found at the link below.

13/02711/FULL1 | Permanent spectator stand

Any residents who wish to comment on either planning application should do by 19 Sep 2013. You can comment by email to planning@bromley.gov.uk quoting the relevant planning reference noted above. 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.

Festival to raise funds to restore Beckenham bandstand – 3pm to 6pm Sun 15 Sept 2013, Croydon Road Rec

MEMORY OF A FREE FESTIVAL
“…The Sun machine is Coming Down, and we’re Gonna Have a Party…”

CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE AND THE BECKENHAM ARTS LAB

Sunday afternoon in Croydon Road Recreation Ground, a local park in Beckenham, the residential south of London may not conjure up visions of youthful exuberance and rock music – but on Sunday September 15th the Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground are hoping that hundreds of people will descend on their park to celebrate David Bowie – Beckenham’s most famous former Beckenham resident, the legacy of the Arts Laboratory he co-founded, and the sensational Free Festival that Arts Lab members staged on the Bandstand in the park in 1969.

This year’s Festival will not be free. A modest entry fee of £5 for each adult will raise funds to restore the historic bandstand. 

Gates open at 2 pm for the 2013 Festival which will see 3 hours of live music from 3 to 6. The Thin White Duke a Bowie tribute band will perform 5 Bowie numbers including ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Space Oddity’ – both of which have links to the band stand. Bowie’s song – ‘Memory of a Free Festival’ will be performed by Bill Liesegang. Other groups taking part are Raf and O, Keval, Low Rent Tractors, Scott Fuller and John Aldington.

There will also be 30 arts & craft stalls, food and refreshment stalls, Bowie themed face painting and a raffle.