Transport for London are currently implementing improvements for pedestrians and cyclists on the A21 by the Green Street Green roundabout, as confirmed in their email of 4 July. Full details about results from the original consultation and proposals can be found on the TfL website here. 9 March 2014 Spencer Harradine of Bromley Cyclists attended the Village Society committee meeting on 9 February and, since then, the space4cycling campaign has been gathering momentum ahead of local elections. For Chelsfield & Pratts Bottom ward a Green Street GreenWay has been conceived to link neighbourhoods and amenities along the A223 Sevenoaks Road between Green Street Green and Orpington High Streets by developing safer segregated space for pedestrians and cyclists alongside the increasingly busy road to encourage mode shift for journeys to local shops, schools, churches, doctors, dentists, stations, etc. With the imminent 50% expansion in parking at Orpington Station, and A21 Farnborough Way improvement works due for completion by June, the Green Street GreenWay is a timely proposal. At the Green Street Green Village Society Committee meeting on 10 March, the proposal will be discussed. The initial infographic is the diagram for the Green Street Greenway proposal to the left - click on it to enlarge) and below are links to further information: a) Area map b) Video of bicycle journey from Bromley Museum at The Priory to A21 Farnborough Way/Green Street Green roundabout: c) Janette Sadik-Khan: New York's streets? Not so mean any more d) In Portland Every Day is Walk & Bike to School Day! e) Cargo bikes in Copenhagen f) Cargo bikes in the US Richard Gibbons, a member of Bromley Cyclists and also a Green Street Green resident, is a strong proponent of this proposal, acting as a 'ward champion'. As Janette Sadik-Khan said in her talk (see (c) above): "… it's possible to change your streets quickly; it's not expensive; it can provide immediate benefits; it can be quite popular … you just need to re-imagine your streets; they're hidden in plain sight." Spencer is now focusing on proposals for Orpington High Street. Please post your comments about the concept below.
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Peace and tranquillity came to our green once again today. Congratulations are due to Bromley Council and the local police who quickly negotiated with the travellers, who agreed to move on.
Following a very positive meeting this afternoon with Councillor Keith Onslow and Paul Nevard (Bromley Highways Officer), the Chair, Bob Trott, and Centre Manager, Eddie Sims, the Society is looking forward to an acceptable solution to this situation. Discussions indicate that the Council are considering moving the crossing a little further down towards Waitrose, between the public conveniences and the hall but the effect on the frontage parking on the opposite side of the road, needs to be taken into account.
Subsequently (a number of years ago) the Council moved the pedestrian crossing from its former location, south of Worlds End Lane, to the present one and there has seemingly been no problem until now. The Council's contention that the dropped kerbs cannot be used for vehicle access will also impact on the properties opposite the Greenwood Centre that own the land between the buildings and the pavement, as this is also used for customer parking. In the recent past council officers have discussed the grass area in front of the Greenwood Centre, which gets churned up by cars entering the parking area, without any suggestion of illegality. The Village Association has existed since 1952, owning the Village Hall - including access to the small parking area. The Association eventually 'handed over' the public footpath area to the Council - some time in the 60s, we believe. Of course the Council do not want the expense of moving the pedestrian crossing - but that is what they will need to do. It seems incredible that responsible council officers agreed the resiting of the pedestrian crossing to its present position without considering the legality of using an existing vehicular access to properties
A Freedom of Information request is being submitted to Bromley Council, to discover exactly when the pedestrian crossing was relocated to outside the Greenwood Centre and what considerations were taken into account in the site assessment. However, if this was carried out prior to 1965, it would have been under the Orpington Urban District Council, which may cause some consternation for Bromley officers, and the information may no longer be available.
(If anyone has information regarding this issue - such as when the pedestrian crossing was moved, please add a comment.) UPDATE: Adrian Tullett is Kevin Carey's replacement at Metrobus. We will be contacting him to follow up on the action points agreed by Mr Carey.
The discussions covered parking issues related to Metrobus staff and also a wider review of parking in the Green Street Green area. The impact of recently introduced parking restrictions and those currently being implemented in the Beechwood Estate were also raised, as well as looking at parking in the 'tree' roads (Ash, Elm, Beech, Oak and Holly) and around World's End Lane. The meeting was very encouraging, with some positive solutions put forward. It is clear that there are adequate parking spaces available for Metrobus staff on site but, for largely unknown reasons, many staff prefer to park off site. Kevin Carey agreed to a number of action points, mainly to continue to find out the real reasons why staff park off site and to encourage them to use the on site parking. He is open to new suggestions and ideas to promote this. However, it is hoped that the local parking restrictions can be evolved to deter staff from parking on local streets, whilst not inconveniencing residents. Paul Nevard gave an update on the parking review and plans for implementation of the new restrictions on Beechwood Estate. He also agreed that pavement parking may well be an acceptable solution in the tree roads. The Society will continue to monitor the situation and updates will be posted here. The action points agreed at the meeting can be downloaded here. 13 December 2013 Councillor Colin Smith, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Environment, and Kevin Carey, CEO of Metrobus, have agreed to a meeting, with ward councillors, council officers, members of the Village Society committee and the chair of Beechwood Residents' Association on Thursday 6 February. Metrobus have also advised that: “At the end of November a further 12 buses (and 35 drivers) will relocate following the tendering loss of one of our routes and in May 2014 we plan to relocate route 367 (10 buses, 30 drivers) from Orpington to our Croydon depot.” This should help to alleviate some of the parking issues. 28 November 2013 Bromley Councillors and council officers, plus Metrobus CEO agreeable to meet with Village Society Committee members and Chair of Beechwood Residents' Association. Mutually convenient date to be found in January.......... 23 November 2013 Councillor Colin Smith, Portfolio Holder for Environment, is being very supportive in aiding the Village Society to arrange a meeting between Metrobus, the Council and local residents, represented by Beechwood Residents' Association and the Village Society. Senior management at Metrobus has contacted the Village Society and is also keen to have a meeting to discuss and, hopefully, resolve the parking issues. WATCH THIS SPACE! 19 November 2013 The Village Society committee discussed this issue at their meeting on 11 November. Beechwood Residents’ Association has been consulting with the council over parking restrictions, to ease the problem for residents. One of the proposals is for one-hour parking restrictions in the morning and early evening on certain parts of the Beechwood Estate. This will no doubt result in Metrobus staff parking elsewhere in the Green Street Green area, so will only cause parking problems for different residents. Parking is worse since the parking restrictions were implemented on the high street. It has been pushed further afield, such as the top of Glentrammon Road. Metrobus staff do not park only in the Beechwood Estate. One thing which the Society will query is about the on-site notices – were they displayed? It was suggested that maybe the land at the Rose and Crown could be used for parking buses, particularly at night. However when they parked there previously, residents complained about revving engines. An overview of parking across the whole area should be taken, rather than the current piecemeal approach since parking restrictions in one area merely move the problem elsewhere. It was decided that a meeting between all the interested parties should be arranged to discuss how to resolve the issue in the long term. A letter has been emailed to relevant portfolio holders at Bromley Council and the local ward councillors, asking for support in achieving this aim.
to continue to use the parking spaces to their advantage and the detriment of local residents. In December 2010, Metrobus submitted a planning application (10/03655) for the demolition of Oak Farm Cottages, to provide 30 more parking spaces for Metrobus staff (see on the right), plus 6 extra spaces (for staff) to be provided by reconfiguration in the main site. However, although the demolition of the cottages went ahead, regardless of the lack of planning permission, and the extra parking spaces were provided, it does not appear to have resolved the issue of staff parking.
Current situation On 31 October this year - a week ago - restrospective planning permission (for the December 2010 application) was granted by Bromley Council's Plans sub-committee. At the same time, the other application, to vary the conditions of the original planning application (2004) and subsequent changes in the 2009 planning application, was also approved. This now means that Metrobus is at liberty to use all their parking spaces (less 6) (this SHOULD mean 192, or is it only 183?) on the main site for buses, instead of staff parking. A strong case to retain the Condition was made by ward members, Cllrs Russell Jackson and Julian Grainger, with supporting remarks from Cllr Colin Smith (Environment Portfolio Holder). However, the Committee went along with the Recommendation for Permission – for reasons as yet unknown – but probably because of the Recommendation plus comments in the Planning report from “Highways” that seem to have been taken out of context. (“Highways” is the same department that has been working on parking schemes in Green Street Green and the Beechwood Estate.) Cllr Colin Smith has asked the Director of Environment to investigate. Since Metrobus has been in contravention of the original condition for a number of years, it remains to be seen whether the regularisation of their previously illegal use of the parking bays will in any way improve the difficulties suffered by local residents due to off-site parking by their staff. It seems quite clear that the dedicated 30 staff parking bays created on the Oak Farm Cottages site are inadequate to accommodate staff and visitors, whether for the first shift or any other time of day. Parking by Metrobus staff has been a continuing bone of contention locally, as staff have parked on and around the high street, thereby reducing parking for shoppers and the possibility of passing trade. The recent parking restrictions and charges and the opening up of Shire Lane for parking had eased the situation, although residents in some side roads have complained of parking difficulties due to non-residents parking there. Parking at the top of Glentrammon Road (where there are no restrictions) has also increased significantly in recent months. The parking surveys carried out in 2010 and 2012 (see link below) only covered the Beechwood Estate, so took no account of possible parking by Metrobus staff elsewhere in Green Street Green. No reason is given as to why only that area was surveyed. At those times the current parking restrictions were not in place, so it would surely seem logical to have surveyed the high street as well? The curious management of these developments gives cause for concern and raises the following queries regarding the application for variation of the conditions: - Why did Bromley Council not enforce the Breach of Condition notice, during the last 3 years? - Why did it take 3 years for the application (and the one for demolition of Oak Farm Cottages) to come to committee? Did any members of the committee query this at the meeting and, if so, what was the reason given? - Both of the 'public consultations' - March/April 2010 and August/September 2013 (holiday period?) - lasted for only 3 weeks and appear to have been limited to the Beechwood estate - why were local residents not made more aware? - The only press advertisements appeared in March/April 2010 (no doubt under 'Public Notices' in very small print which few people read!). - Interestingly, dates of 'site notices' are 'not available' - does this mean none were posted? This situation will be discussed at the Village Society Committee meeting on 11 November. If you have any comments, please add them to this article. Relevant documents from the planning application pages on the council website can be accessed from the links below. Bromley Council Agenda for 31 October 2013 Decision of April 2005 granting planning permission - see condition 7 about staff/visitor parking Decision of September 2009 granting planning permission - see condition 3 about staff/visitor parking Parking Surveys 2010 and 2012 Margot Rohan - Secretary, Village Society
12 March 2013 The following public notice was posted in the News Shopper on 6 March: Public Notice ref. Green Street Green Parking Proposals Anyone who wishes to raise any objections, must respond by 27 March 2013 to the Director of Environmental Services, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley BR1 3UH, quoting reference ADE(TP)/RP/T100/591. 27 September 2012
Environment Committee approved proposals at meeting on 25 September (see Item 20e - draft minutes). Proposal plans can be viewed here: Proposal 1 (High Street up to Laxey Road) and Proposal 2 (Laxey Road to World's End Lane) 22 September Following the consultation, the proposals will be scrutinised at the meeting of the Environment Committee on Tuesday 25 September (Agenda Item 7e). Councillor Julian Grainger has provided the following analysis of the survey/comments: The headlines: * Laxey & Lezayre Not enough few residents indicated a willingness to consider Permits - even the £40 option. - Laxey 7 out out of the 18 without a drive - Lezayre 4 out of the 6 without a drive In each case the Permit supporters were scattered (even in Lezayre) so it would not be practical to have even one short Permit bay. * Glentrammon Avenue 23 households considered there was a problem in their road. The proposals were not supported - even though 16 indicated a preference for either reduced cars or shorter stays. With these 3 roads being at the heart of the problem, and apparently no clear view discernible, there was a brief flirtation with deferring - with the risk of losing momentum. As this would leave the problems unresolved meetings were held to see if there was any way to make progress. Fortunately there is some encouraging news about creating extra parking. - Old Shire Lane has a viable scheme drafted - Bus stand in front of Shell garage - Transport for London have agreed to a temporary (6 mth) suspension. Bromley Council will remove the markings. - Large footway in front of ICARE. The over-large pavement could be cut back providing 4 extra spaces. So through the fog of a myriad of seemingly conflicting comments from residents it is thought that a "Phase 1" is possible. * Laxey & Lezayre - Bays marked (as per consultation) but no Permits, Pay & Display or reduced hours. - One hour Single Yellow Line on one side, halfway up (about 30 yards in Laxey, 50 yards in Lezayre) Reasoning: Marked bays should tidy parking away from drives and rear access. SYL should reduce dense, all day parking in the mid-sections. * Glentrammon Avenue On closer examination, objections were around the siting of specific marked bays, the junction with Glentrammon Gardens and the short section from No.4 to No.8 (No. 15 to No.21) - between the bends. - No marked bays, just gaps in yellow lines - One hour Single Yellow Line (with some gaps) for the majority, Double Yellow Line (with fewer gaps) between Laxey & Nos 4/15 Glentrammon Avenue - Some proposed bays/gaps removed, mostly covered by 1 hour SYL or DYL (the former allowing short stays, the latter no parking) Reasoning: Gaps in Yellow lines will direct parking to acceptable spots, suitably scattered. Single Yellow Line still allows for shorter stays elsewhere in Glentrammon Avenue. Double Yellow Lines focused on section between the bends. Fewer signs and markings. *High Street - Proceed with Pay & Display from Waitrose to Lezayre Road (i.e. not near Queens Head, opp. Nos. 8 to 20) - Propose 50p hour (instead of 60p) with 10p of time being allowed. - Pushing for 9am - 5pm but officers want "standard" 8:30am to 6:30pm Reasoning: P&D encourages turnover allowing more customers to visit. Section nr Queens Head needed for residents & shopkeepers. * Other minor proposals to proceed, with minor adjustments suggested by residents Conclusion Officers believe that a "Phase 1" is viable - and would be reviewed in 6 months anyway. Impact less than the original proposal but should tidy parking (i.e. better than nothing) If Old Shire Lane can be implemented soon it should draw Metrobus staff away. The revised proposals are very adjustable (e.g. add or delete road markings) so unexpected impacts dealt with quickly. 8 September A PUBLIC CONSULTATION took place during August, closing on 7 September: Finalised proposals were notified to all residents in affected roads. There was a period for feedback and comments were collected and analysed, before final recommendations were decided by the council. 13 April At a meeting held at the Greenwood Community Centre on 13 April, just under 40 local residents and traders discussed the DRAFT proposals put forward by Councillor Julian Grainger from Bromley Council. The feedback from this meeting will be taken into consideration and final proposals will be submitted by Bromley Council to all residents in a couple of months - probably May/June. Then a full public consultation will take place before a final decision is made by the council. Council officers want to get the proposals as near as possible to what is wanted by residents, before sending them out for consultation. The Chair of the Green Street Green Village Society, Tony Bradley, and Councillor Grainger gave a brief summary: - Concentrating on high street - Kingsley Road – parking on pavement to be allowed on uphill side - Lynne Close – proposing some free parking - Lezayre and Laxey Road – residents cannot park outside their own houses – proposal to have residents’ only parking and pay and display (which residents with permits can also use) - Glentrammon Avenue – proposing free parking - High Street – proposals for pay and display – some time limited (to be agreed) - Green Farm Close – proposing a few more spaces - Proposals for permits focused on terraced housing - Pay and display where residents have some off-street parking - Will be possible to pay for short periods - Free parking bays – furthest from High Street and alongside flank fences - One problem – bottom end of Glentrammon Avenue nearest school – not possible to have bays on both sides (only 18ft wide) - Suggestion – to have loading bay on High Street – but to be limited hours so accessible to public for parking - Suggest minimum restrictions - Bays to be marked - Driveways will be preserved - Better passing spaces The following issues were raised: - Glentrammon Avenue opposite Glentrammon Gardens – need yellow lines as difficult to turn out from Glentrammon Avenue - view restricted by parked cars - Glentrammon Avenue - dust carts reversing – dangerous at junction with Glentrammon Gardens - High Street parking – is it possible for pay bays to be free for first half hour? (Cllr Grainger agreed to support/argue for first 10-15 minutes being free) - Police cars (personal as well as official) – will they have to pay? (Cllr Grainger suggested the possibility of business permits (more expensive than residents' permits) but excluding residents’ only bays) - Business bays - lower bays nearer High Street possibly? - Not competing with residents’ bays? - Pay and display areas to have maximum stay periods – to be agreed - Residents want to be able to park somewhere and for people to come to Green Street Green to shop but want to stop excessive all day parking - Waitrose – manager has mentioned that some staff have shifts longer than 4 hours so maximum parking period may be a problem (Cllr Grainger has asked for the number of staff who drive and the number who drive and have longer shifts) - What about visitors' permits for residents to be able to give to their visitors so they can use residents' bays or parking bays free of charge? (Cllr Grainger pointed out that the permit only bays are relatively few and visitors should be able to use pay and display bays nearby at a reasonable cost) - High Street – people may be discouraged from shopping in Green Street Green if they have difficulty parking - new proposals may be more restrictive - Parking meters, signs and marked bays will give a more urban feel - want to keep rural aspect - Tidier parking will only be achieved with marked bays and yellow lines - better for road safety and convenience (Cllr Grainger will check how many parking meters will be needed) - What about having a one hour restriction (11am-12pm or 1-2pm) to stop all day parking? - Could have different one hour restrictions on opposite sides of the road (similar to that in Windsor Drive) - Pay and display would encourage turnover in parking - allowing more business for shops - If people have to pay, they may go further to park for free in Tesco and Green Street Green businesses will lose - Pay and display works in most retail units in the Bromley e.g. Locksbottom – previously lorries parked all day – now cheap parking and spaces are always available - 8 spaces between crossing and Queens Head – council lobbied by customers as they cannot see right when turning out of car park, due to parked cars - so first space being removed, possibly second, for safety - Residents do not want High Street clogged up all day - proposals will encourage turnover - Green Street Green has a good community because the shops bring money to the area – would not want anything to impact on this - Residents' permits do not guarantee being able to park in your own street (Cllr Grainger suggested this was possible in larger areas but unlikely to happen in Green Street Green) - Alternative would be time limited free parking but this would raise the issue of enforcement (cost) – currently Green Street Green is not a prime patrolling area - Parking all way down Lezayre Road by police station obstructs driveways – also double parking - there was an incident where an ambulance could not get into Bakers Mews (Cllr Grainger - council officer has taken this into account – double yellow line across entrance to Bakers Mews) - First priority – residents’ permits for those with no off-street parking - Second priority – to stop people clogging up the High Street all day - Third priority – to stop all day parkers (for shops) then being displaced further up residential roads - Bays alongside walls and fences would be best for long term parking - Yellow lines across driveways to stop cars parking and blocking them - Road safety – coming out of Total garage cars park too close – hazard (Cllr Grainger – council wants to remove bus stand and have 2 or 3 car parking spaces instead but Tfl funds lots of local road schemes and so has to be handled with some care.) - Councillors trying to get Old Shire Lane opened up as it is unused all day and would provide additional parking - End of High Street - footway in front of I-Care Centre – looking at getting a few parking spaces there Below are plans of the DRAFT PROPOSALS (which changed slightly before the final consultation) for new parking restrictions in Green Street Green, to address local concerns about all-day parking causing lack of parking for local residents and customers of local shops: (click on the links and rotate the plans counterclockwise to view) Kingsley Road Lynne Close and High Street Lezayre Road and Glentrammon Avenue Lezayre Road and High Street Laxey Road and High Street Laxey Road, High Street and Glentrammon Avenue Glentrammon Avenue and Glentrammon Gardens High Street (by Waitrose) Green Farm Close 17 May 2013 At the AGM, of the 60 people attending, 34 voted in favour of replacing the oak tree with a magnolia or similar type of tree. Only 5 voted against. The committee will discuss how to take this forward in order to put up a request to the council. Cllr Julian Grainger suggested setting up a working group to prepare some options for wider consultation. Another suggestion was to encourage people to fill in a questionnaire at the Harris HospisCare Fete on 8 June. (Complete minutes of the AGM are posted on the website here.) 23 April 2013 UPDATE: The oak tree has now been cut down, leaving a stump. The cutters told an enquiring neighbour that the stump would be taken out and a new tree planted. The question is whether the best solution is to plant another. It could be difficult since the ground will be full of old roots. To leave the land clear would make it easier to maintain and could eventually lead to a decent piece of grass there. The old tree was a source of autumn leaves and bird droppings so a nuisance to the society. A decorative tree, such as a mountain ash, would be a source of berry mess. Any tree planted, unless a sizeable one and planted in the autumn, would be prone to vandalism and death through lack of water! However perhaps a birch or similar would be suitable if it is council policy to replace. What do other residents think? Any other bright suggestions? 14 January 2013 The trees outside the centre have been inspected and the tree specialist at Bromley Council reports as follows: "2 officers have carried out inspections on the large Horse Chestnut within the last 3 months and have concluded that no works are required at this stage. We will however continue to monitor the tree on an annual basis along with all of our Horse Chestnut street tree stock." "With reference to the Oak tree I can fully understand why the Society has highlighted its concerns. I have conducted a Resistograph test to the base of the tree which appears sound from the results at present. However, the fruiting bodies on the main stem proved too high up for me to test, therefore I have ordered a climbing inspection to test the infected area. In addition I have ordered that the tree be thinned in order to reduce some minor weight in the crown in lieu of the results. It may be that we do need to remove the tree in the near future." 21 April 2013 More photos of the new pothole-free, even-surfaced Brittenden Parade. (Click on photos to enlarge them): 20 April 2013 Improvement completed and cars have already christened the new surface! 14 April 2013 New tarmac and pavements: 6 April 2013 Beginning to take shape - flattened surface ready for tarmac? 26 March 2013 Works progressing slowly. One worker on site today but camera shy! 9 March 2013 The works were held up this week due to the weather! 1 March 2013 Works in progress - road dug up. Photos to follow soon. 9 January 2013 Bromley Council have agreed to improve and maintain Brtittenden Parade - see Proposed Making Up (Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee Minutes 25 September 2012 item 20f) Copy from Orpington News Shopper PUBLIC NOTICE (issued by Bromley Council under the Highways Act 1980 - The Private Street Works Code) BRITTENDEN PARADE, GREEN STREET GREEN - PRIVATE STREET WORKS SCHEME NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT
"Picture the scene,” says Tim Buick, founder and local resident, “a local running club creates a pin board at the lamp post, which serves as their meeting point. Alan wants to do a 10-mile run, Dave wants advice on a niggling knee injury and Karen wants to know if anyone is going to the half marathon at the weekend. They all add comments and soon get their advice, running partners and a lift, from various other members reading their posts. After their run, they check the pin board and join the pub trip suggested by Peter, 10 minutes ago, as the pub has just offered a 2-for-1 offer on real ale.” Jo said: “Great to see an Orpington tech start-up knit the Green Street Green community together like this - I congratulate Tim for coming up with such an ingenious idea and urge local businesses to help build up this exciting new online marketplace.” New social media on the block, StreetPin, provides a community-focused way of meeting those around you. Its interactive pin boards connect people through a common environment, atmosphere or venue, rather than existing contacts. Think of a hybrid between Facebook, Foursquare and eBay, with its own spin to engage local community activity. They aim to bring this simple concept to a global audience – the mantra being ‘connecting the world, one community at a time’. Users discover communities of interest on their doorstep or on the other side of the world. They can join a community for a minute or a lifetime, if there’s no pin board there – they simply create a free one, direct from their handset.
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