For All
Bandstand Restoration News and Progress Updates Bench Action Day - 16th June 2023 The state of the park's toilets Gate Lodge and adjacent
Gateway to Croydon Road Recreation Ground David Bowie's festival bandstand gets Grade II listing (August 2019) Paddling Pool status update
Paddling Pool status - The Paddling Pool is open on hot days in the summer FoCRRG
Accounts 2022/2023 New park signage! Following the approval of our bid application to obtain funding from the London Borough of Bromley Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund, our proposal to install some new park signage in the park was accepted. The money has now allowed us to design and install new park signage at four of the park's major entrances. Improved access to the park will be of benefit to all, and two of the signboards now include space for advertising special events etc. Applications were welcomed from Friends groups and had to include the backing of at least 100 local residents who are on the electoral roll within the London Borough of Bromley. Many thanks to everyone who helped!
(click images above to enlarge) Bench Action Day 2!
Beautiful
day for our second “Bench Action Day” of the
year Bench Action Day - 16th June
50 years ago, on 24 June 1973, it was the first day at the Kings school in Beckenham Road for two 16 year old college students from Germany, who wanted to improve their English language skills. Sabine walked up the stairs, whistling a song and there stood Johannes on top of the stairs, muttering "If I could whistle as bad as you I would keep my mouth shut". Sabine wisely ignored this remark but she was intrigued to know more about this boy in a hand knitted yellow sweater (knitted by himself!). They started chatting over lunch at Croydon Road Recreation Ground the same day and remained inseparable throughout their stay, also meeting some lovely people in Beckenham with whom they stayed in touch. They got married 5 years later and, in 1983, donated a bench with a brass plaque to Croydon Road Recreation Ground in order to celebrate 10 years of their relationship. Fast forward 40 years later, 50 years after they met, Sabine and Johannes celebrated their special day with their 5 children, 5 children in law and 9 grandchildren, between 16 years and 9 months old, in the lovely park where it all began. A very big thank you to the Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground and the community manager Anita Zambaldo from idverde and her colleagues for helping them let their bench shine as new. Future Plans LBB Neighbourhood Management is working with the Friends of Parks borough-wide forum on a parks-wide signage improvement project and our Friends Group will be putting forward some ambitious proposals to improve park signage at Croydon Road Rec. specifically. London Borough of Bromley is now accepting applications for their £1Million Platinum Jubilee Parks fund, an LBB-administered parks improvement fund. .Details of how to apply for some of the fund have been circulated to community groups and The Friends are planning to apply to the fund for replacement of our park's grossly out of date signage, which could include a story board of the bandstand. We will keep you informed of the progress of our application in due course. Also, toilet refurbishment has been brought up by ourselves, the cafe and the Ward Councillors as a priority for the park (see the article below).. Another longer term improvement for the park will be refurbishment of the paddling pool, for which we have already started fundraising. LBB are also planning to refurbish the smaller gazebo/shelter in the park this year, should the external funding prove forthcoming. The state of the park's toilets
The Friends are increasingly concerned about the state of the park’s toilets, following several recent complaints. idverde ground staff are contracted by Bromley Council to clean and re-stock the toilets every morning when the toilets are unlocked; the Service level Agreement is once a day. The toilets have deteriorated recently and
have experienced vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The
state of the toilets has led to the ward Councillor
escalating the situation with the Portfolio Holder for
parks at Bromley Council. Due to these problems, the idverde team has committed to monitoring the toilets at various times during the day and cleaning and restocking them as necessary. Time sheets have now been placed in the toilet for the operative to sign on each visit and a supervisor will visit periodically to assess the condition and request a clean, if necessary. The team will inform management immediately if there are any signs of anti-social behaviour and record any damage to the toilet block so that this can be reported to Bromley Council, for repairs to be initiated. We would encourage all Friends to report
issues with the toilets direct to the council. The more
we report it the more pressure we put on Bromley Council
to address the issues . Please report all issues with the
toilets (and any other matters in the park) here: Longer term we are campaigning for a full refurbishment of the toilet block to coincide with the bandstand renovation and we would welcome support from all Friends to pressure Bromley Council to provide funding to support this. If any Friends are interested in volunteering to help with repainting and refreshing the toilets in a community day partnership with IdVerde and Bromley Council please email John Backway, Membership Secretary at jmbackway@yahoo.co.uk. All materials will be provided and no toilet cleaning would be expected ! Gate Lodge
and adjacent Gateway to Croydon Road Recreation Ground
HISTORIC ENGLAND HAS STATED THE FOLLOWING REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The gate lodge and gateway to Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham, built in 1890 to 1891, are recommended for listing at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Architectural interest: A late Victorian gate lodge forming a strong architectural composition alongside the gateway at the entrance to the park, including wooden verandas, a circular bay window for the supervision of the park covered by an elegant ogee dome, and a pyramidal roof rising to a tall central chimney stack; The lodge survives relatively well and compares favourably to listed lodges of the period. Historic interest: For the historic association with the wider expansion of the public park movement in the late 19th century, following the Public Health Act (1875), when parks developed in suburbs and small towns for recreation and as an expression of civic pride. Group value: As a component of a fine late Victorian and Edwardian ensemble alongside the Grade II-listed (2019) Bowie Bandstand (1905), which is also associated with the 1969 Summer Growth Festival and David Bowie’s rise to fame after performing in the park, adjacent to housing of the same period. David
Bowie's festival bandstand gets Grade II listing Singer performed to audience of few hundred at Beckenham landmark in summer of 1969
The
Beckenham bandstand, known to fans as the Bowie bandstand
was used for singer’s 1969 summer festival Fifty years after a young David Bowie performed from a south London bandstand in front of a tiny crowd at a summer festival he organised, the historic iron structure that served as his modest stage has been Grade II-listed. Known to fans as the "Bowie bandstand", and thought to be the only surviving example from the Glasgow-based McCallum and Hope iron foundry in the UK, it was the centrepiece of the Growth summer festival, held by Bowie and friends on 16 August 1969 in Beckenham. London Borough of Bromley press article © The Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground 2008 - |
