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Councillors recommend new 'Puffing Billy' street train, raising river and new sign...

I was alerted to this story via a great many local twitterers today, and a few comments like are our councillors 'having a Giraffe?' could be well founded. Twitterers versus Twits I was about to title this. Read on below - excert from NewsShopper story.

I'm sure this discussion could run and run, what are they thinking? Welcome to Beckenham Town World of Adventure, are our councillors seriously considering turning the centre of town into a neo-theme park and raising a river that's prone to flooding will I'm sure make a lot of those within the new floodplain happy. Just checking the date.... it is the 1st of November not the 1st April isn't it?

Nice use of money guys...

'A PUFFING BILLY street train could be chugging its way around Beckenham high street as councillors explore new ways to drive more shoppers into town.

The idea for a £150,000 tractor modelled as a steam engine and pulling a “road train” of passenger coaches was dreamed up by a working party of four Bromley councillors to try and improve Beckenham town centre.

Their report recommended launching a £5,000 feasibility study to see if the train could run through a new £1.8m “shared space” in the high street between Village Way and Bromley Road.

However the ‘Review of Beckenham and West Wickham Town Centres’ says “the majority of the working group felt a road train could operate cost effectively only during school holidays”.

Even so, the 35-page review recommended a trial of the street train for ten days as a Christmas attraction.

The group, led by Councillor Michael Tickner, also recommend raising the River Beck to street level, introducing a new street market and buying a new Beckenham Town sign, costing anywhere between £5,000 and £50,000.

Exotic foliage

Introducing the review, Cllr Tickner said: “It is recognised that these historic town centres deliver a wide-ranging offer of distinctive retail, leisure and entertainment opportunities.

“This working group understands the value that these town centres bring to Bromley and its residents, and has identified a number of practical and wide-ranging recommendations to support the ongoing delivery of a strong town centre identity and quality.”

In West Wickham, the working group, advised by local resident associations, recommended installing a “distinctive feature” such as a statue, water fountain, or exotic foliage at the town’s main roundabout.

New £3,000 street lamps were also recommended for the town.

Acting secretary of the Copers Cope Residents’ Association Nick Carter said: “Beckenham needs something doing to it. Whether these are the things which need doing, I am not sure.

“We need more of the shops people like to shop in.” '

Courtesy of Scott Mullins, NewsShopper

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Duncan on December 2, 2009 at 2:36pm: Received a conservative pamphlet through my door this week and it confirms the shared space idea for the high street although traffic will still be able to drive through at 20mph???

Bonkers.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jon Clarke on December 2, 2009 at 10:38pm: I don't think I've received that pamphlet yet. I normally vote Conservative, but on local issues I'm starting to question the intelligence of a party that seems to want to change everything for change's sake. It would seem a few people can now put up crazy idea after crazy idea and it gets their full backing. Perhaps I should see if Lord Such has returned from the other side and has a blue rosette.

The area needs better facilities for teenagers, youth centres, skatepark and athletic facilities, there are large buildings standing idle the council knows about, even sites like the Studio in Beckenham suffers from no council lead or help. What do teenagers have to do in the evenings in Beckenham, almost absolutely nothing. That's the more important project, and will make far better use of any money going, we do not need more pavements, less parking and a puffing billy train.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Jeffery on December 4, 2009 at 8:29am: Jon Clarke said:
What do teenagers have to do in the evenings in Beckenham, almost absolutely nothing.

I've always found the notion that teenagers have to be given something to do slightly odd. So many phone-in radio shows where people blame teenage crime on the fact that "all the Youth Centres have been closed down" yet when I was a teenager if there was a Youth Centre I could have gone to I didn't know about it, in fact, such a thing existing had never occurred to me – I’d never heard of them, so it might as well have not existed.

And yet my friends and I didn't get in to trouble and we weren't bored. I don't think there wasn't anything unusual about us. We listened to music, talked, tried to talk to girls (my friends were better at that than me - I just gawped) and sometimes played football or cricket. Scowling on street corners, daubing graffiti, vandalising property just never occurred to us. All this with no Youth Centre involvement nor entertainment handed to us on a plate by the government or local council.

Surely kids/teenagers don't really NEED to be provided with things to do by the state? Are they so lacking in imagination?

I'm not saying we shouldn't provide Youth Centres or anything else, I'm saying it shouldn't be a requirement. It would be nice to have them, even desirable, but they shouldn't be necessary.

I just fear something like "it's no wonder kids cause trouble, they've got nothing to do because all the Youth Centres have been closed down" becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Anyway, this is a slight side-track I think and I think the road-train is a silly idea.

Still, anything that puts people off voting conservative can't be all bad... ;-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by BeckenhamTown.us on December 4, 2009 at 11:29am: Hi Jeff

Youth centres are one thing, but actually there are more sport, tech or even music related opportunities that could be investigated and placed in public places like parks or recreational areas. Many young people have imagination, it's just that there aren't th enumber of facilities there were years ago, nor are they available and open all the time. Now we live in a far more 'Daily Mail fear everything' society parks are closed at dusk, groups of teenagers moved on or stopped and searched. Lots stay in, but for some getting out is preferrable and yes giving them something helpful, constructive or in a roudn a bout way educational is something we should put more efforts into.

The winning of the Olympics for London hasn't shown lots of new sports facilities for kids or even grown ups, not much of a legacy I guess will happen, such a pity.

The @Bristol Science museum and even some outdoor theme parks have some great lo-tech ideas that could be easily rolled out across the country and aid all. I love the simple 30 meter running posts which calculate your running speed, every kid, mum and dad can't pass them by without having a few goes. So I believe there are lots of things that can be done, it just needs some creative thinking.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Jeffery on December 4, 2009 at 3:50pm: Beckenham Town Residents said:
Hi Jeff

I love the simple 30 meter running posts which calculate your running speed, every kid, mum and dad can't pass them by without having a few goes.

They sound great! :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by BeckenhamTown.us on December 4, 2009 at 7:04pm: Perhaps we could have them down Clock House Road and have fun timing the fastest late commuter running for the train?; ▶ Reply to This