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The Big Lunch in Bromley – June 2024

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The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours and communities, with millions of people coming together for a few hours of food, friendship, and fun. It connects people and encourages friendlier, safer communities where people start to share more – conversations, ideas, skills, resources and friendship.

The Big Lunch is once again coming to Bromley to help people come together to celebrate their community, neighbourhood friendships and street friends.

The Big Lunch is an initiative which comes from Eden Project Communities, an organisation which fosters & values connection, community & neighbourly spirits. The same organisation has brought us the Big Jubilee lunch in 2022, and the Big Coronation lunch in 2023.

This year we have partnered the Big Lunches with the London Festival of Architecture and hope to bring people together from across London to experience why Bromley is a top destination with so much to offer.

These FREE Big lunches will happen between 11 am – 1pm at the below dates and locations:

Saturday 1st June – Orpington priory & gardens, Orpington – 11 am – 1 pm

Saturday 22nd June – Chislehurst Common – Round about green near Prickend Pond – 11 am – 1 pm

Sunday 23rd June – Crystal Palace Park – Cricket Ground – 11 am – 1 pm

Saturday 29th June – Queens Gardens , Bromley South – 11 am – 1 pm

Participants will be able to bring their homemade lunches and picnic essentials whilst also finding out what is going on in Bromley with Libraries, Clarion Futures, MET police, Caremark, Fostering, Mytime Active and many more organisations attending to promote their services, activities, and groups.

Healthy School Streets Consultation

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Healthy School Streets – Have Your Say

Croydon Council would like to hear what you think about plans to introduce six new Healthy School Streets in Croydon.

Following the introduction of 40 Healthy School Streets across the borough, the Council have been working with schools to understand where there is an interest in introducing a new scheme, but before doing so, the Council are keen to hear your views.

The schools being considered are:

  • Applegarth Academy, Addington CR0 9DL
  • Beulah Road Infant and Nursery, Thornton Heath CR7 8NJ
  • Harris Primary Academy Purley Way, South Croydon CR0 4FE
  • John Wood Primary School, Croydon CR0 6JA
  • Riddlesdown Collegiate, Purley CR8 1EX
  • Rowdown Primary School, New Addington CR0 0EG

What are Healthy School Streets?

Healthy School Streets help pupils to have safer, healthier journeys to and from school, by restricting the roads outside the school during school drop-off and pick-up times.

This encourages parents and pupils to leave the car at home more often for the school run, and instead choose more sustainable and active means of travel, such as walking, cycling, or scooting. Healthy School Streets benefit residents by decreasing motor traffic in their neighbourhood during busy pick-up and drop-off hours – reducing congestion, noise, and air pollution.

Benefits of Healthy School Streets:

  • Safer school journeys for pupils
  • Make it easier to choose sustainable travel like walking and cycling
  • Cleaner and less polluted streets
  • Improve our air quality
  • Encourage active travel, helping to promote healthy lifestyles

How do I get involved?

Before making a decision on the future of these schemes we want to hear from local residents and drivers who use the roads on the proposals.

Take the consultation survey between Wednesday 8 May and Tuesday 28 May to give your views.

The Council encourage everyone to provide their views, this includes pupils, parents and school staff.

For any scheme specific enquiries or if you require the consultation information in a different format contact Croydon Council on 020 8726 6000, 9am – 4pm Monday – Friday, or email: healthyschoolstreets@croydon.gov.uk

Note: when contacting Croydon Council via email you must enter the scheme specific reference in the subject line.

What happens next?

Feedback will be used to develop recommendations that will be reported to Cabinet, It will then decide on the future of the schemes.

If approved, further consultation will be held on the Healthy School Streets during the summer.

Save Our Shirley Library – Meeting Friday 24 May 2024

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Shirley Library is under threat of closure from Croydon Council.

We need to support this valuable social and community asset and preserve an iconic art deco building.

The library is Shirley’s only social hub available free to all, regardless of age or background.

Users of the library include young people doing Duke of Edinburgh awards, toddlers learning to read, children on holiday doing the Reading Challenge, older people from one of the many retirement homes, young people doing their homework on the computers. It provides:

  • access via the Libraries Consortium to 350 branches, 23 local authorities and access to over 7 million books.
  • support for people preparing for their driving test or citizenship test and for exams in general.
  • computer courses and support with IT problems for many who cannot afford to have a computer at home and offers a space for study and reflection.
  • children’s craft sessions and adult events, such as taster courses on deaf language.
  • advice on many of the social issues that affect people, such as homelessness, domestic violence, unemployment.

There will be a meeting at Shirley Library on Friday 24th May at 1.00pm to discuss our next actions, everyone is welcome.

We need to act now by spreading the word to friends and family.

A group of concerned residents have branded themselves Friends of Shirley Library and have started a movement to save our library.

There is a petition which can be signed in Shirley Library or online https://chng.it/Ww96qMBX6y

If you want to make contact with the Friends of Shirley Library, please email your name, email address, and telephone number to spra.comms@email.com. By so doing, you agree to your details being passed to others similarly interested.

You can also help by emailing our local councillors –

Jason.Cummings@croydon.org.uk

Scott.Roche@croydon.org.uk