Lots of beehives in the heart of Purley
15/09/2019 10:23:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

Yesterday I enjoyed attending part of an open day at the Purley district of Surrey Beekeepers Association which has lots of hives in the allotments off Hartley Down. We heard an interesting presentation about the different types of bees, their history - going back 120 million years - and how to look after them and harvest honey and other products; there was a practial session in the afternoon, when a hive was opened up.

As there is no onsite electricity supply, work on the hives is necessarily restricted in winter, so the Purley & Woodcote councillors made a contribution last year from the Community Ward Budget towards the provision of some solar panels. These will be used to charge batteries and provide lighting & other facilities for the hut.  

The art of bee-keeping is a very ancient tradition, and it's a pleasure to see it thriving in our midst. The SBKA is always on the lookout for new members, so please contact them via their website if you're interested, or I'll be pleased to put you in touch direct. 

Click here to download

Kenley Airfield Flypast Sunday 18th August
12/08/2019 08:29:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

Kenley Airfield was one of the three (with Croydon & Biggin Hill) which were primarily responsible for the defence of London during the Second World War, and it's the best preserved in the whole country. Kenley Airfield Friends' Group won a major National Lottery Award to restore parts of it a few years ago, and it's now a scheduled monument. 

Subject to the weather, there's a fly-past every year by one or more WW2 aircraft, usually including a Spitfire, a Hurricane & a bomber; this takes place on the Sunday closest to 18th August, which is the anniversary of the day when the airfield suffered its heaviest attack. This year, it's scheduled for about 1:20pm on Sunday 18th August, and I strongly recommend the experience. There will also be several stalls at which local organisations will be pleased to tell their stories.

**FORTY** flats proposed for 59-63 Higher Drive
11/08/2019 16:14:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

Developers are trying to strike yet again in Higher Drive. One application for 78 Higher Drive is coming to the planning committee on Thursday 15/8 for demolition of a large family house and its replacement inevitably by a block of 9 flats. In addition, a much larger scheme involving demolition of 59-63 Higher Drive and their replacement by FORTY flats has just been announced. This will totally change and destroy the character of the whole area and all the local residents are passionately opposed to it. 

The Foxley Residents' Association has produced an excellent flyer which is below, so I hope residents will object in large numbers.

The indiscriminate destruction of large family houses all round Purley and the South of the Borough is one of the reasons why many residents are turning towards the idea of a democratically elected mayor for Croydon, as advocated by a cross-party group of residents' association.: see http://www.democ.org.uk/ for more information

Click here to download

Eid Mubarak to one and all...
11/08/2019 15:56:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

I went to the annual celebration of Eid Al Adha early this morning in the open air at Sanderstead Rec; it was a pleasure to be invited by my colleague Cllr Quadir, and we were very lucky with the weather, given how awful it was yesterday. There was a joyous atmosphere after the celebration and we all went home to a traditional feast at which particular dishes are served.

Pleased to be invited to volunteer lunch at SECHC
10/08/2019 15:49:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

I was delighted to be invited to a volunteers' lunch yesterday at the SE Cancer Help Centre, which is in the Tesco Purley complex. I've been a supporter of their annual Paint Purley Purple campaign for several years, and I'm looking forward to offering some advice on how to develop their IT systems, and possibly also offering classes or one to one support, if there's any demand. 

Council destroys jobs - all because of a dispute with a landlord
10/08/2019 12:17:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

This is a shocking tale: On Tuesday 16th July (coincidentally (or was it?) on the day after the last full Council meeting till October), some heavy-handed security staff moved in on the Allders Village Outlet in George Street. Without any prior notice whatsoever, they changed the locks, barred any shop-staff from going inside, and actually assaulted a 72 year old member of staff by removing a key from him. Among the 20 shops affected by this is Bellamys, a very successful ice-cream and snack parlour. This family-run business has been totally ruined in their peak trading season of the summer school holidays, and the staff were barred from even retrieving personal possessions. They had a van legally parked in the Allders car park and this was removed to Chessington, which is where the enforcement officers apparently have a base. 

All this has happened because the Council is in a dispute with the landlord of the Village Outlet, and they decided that the only way to resolve this was forcibly to take over the whole building - but what a way to do so! I find it totally incomprehensible that it wasn't possible for some sane negotiations to have ensured that, whatever the dispute between Council and the landlord, the businesses could have continued unaffected. As it is, many families are now on the breadline, and a tiny remant of the ice-cream store is now trading from a single stall outside Centrale. Utterly shameful.. 

I'm helping the family to try and find an alternative location and to protect their frozen stock and expensive machinery, which is now lying idle, but still needs daily maintenance. They will also be seeking some independent legal advice on how to obtain compensation.

Bins cleared at last in Russell Hill Place :-) .. but why so long?
07/08/2019 12:07:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

Good news for a change. I'm delighted to report that after considerable sustained pressure on the Council's contrator Veolia, all the bins and accumulated rubbish were finally cleared from Russell Hill Place yesterday.

As I said in an email to Cllr Stuart Collins, "I honestly don’t know how it’s possible in this day and age with CCTV & satellite tracking on the vehicles, for one street to be missed for FOUR WEEKS on the trot?? There must be a daily rota, where each street is ticked off as it’s cleared, so how can this happen? What procedure does Veolia have in place to ensure streets aren’t missed, and how did it fail? Surely they cannot be unaware that a whole street was missed completely, and if they were aware, why didn’t they come round the next day?"

It was particularly disappoining that that Veolia failed to turn up on Monday 5/7 which was the standard bin clearance day. I'm assured that there will be a full investigation, but I doubt if anything will actually happen :-( 

Bins, bins, bins.. AGAIN :-(
03/08/2019 12:31:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

For some reason, the bins all along Russell Hill Place (behind 914-958 Brighton Road Purley) have not been properly emptied for nearly four weeks, and I'm having a real struggle getting anything done about it. I have escalated to senior officer, tweeted, emailed lots of people, but all to no avail so far. A frequent response from the Council is that everything has to be reported online, but this doens't work if the resident doesn't have a PC and hasn't the pateince to queue for ages on the phone. If bins are missed just once, then the rubbish accumulates till there's too much to fit into the bin so it's left lying around for rats to feast upon. Horrible. 

Open Day at Abbeyfield Purley
27/07/2019 12:20:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

I and about 50 other visitors braved the wind, rain and occasional sunshine earlier today to enjoy Abbeyfield Purley's open day. The Purley home is one of a charitable network of similar homes which operate independently but within national guidelines. It's a delightful large house with a big garden which provides assisted care to ten residents, and the Open Day is an opportunity for the many volunteers and guests to show people round the home and chat to residents. It was a pleasure to be there, and I hope I'll be able to get more involved in the future. 

Very interesting talk at PACE AGM
25/07/2019 18:23:00.......Posted by Simon Brew

I went to the PACE (Purley & Coulsdon Centre for the Elderly) AGM yesterday, as in previous years. Apart from the usual AGM business, there was a fascinating talk by someone from the Bourne Society - I'm sorry I don't remember his name. He talked about Gardner's Pleasure Resort which was very well established in the late 19th/early 20th century apparently catering for up to 2000 daily visitors, and even including a miniature railway! The resort centred around a large house which is still standing (with its Bourne Society plaque) on the Godstone Road, Purley, just opposite Little Roke Road.

PACE is a registered charity based in Lansdowne Road, Purley; it provides many activities for the elderly living all around the area, and also manages to provide a taxi service for those who cannot travel on their own. They are currently using a fairly elderly mini-bus which is likely to incur some heavy repair bills in the near future, so they are looking for funding for a new bus, or indeed to help pay for any of the worthwhile acitvities which they organise. Please get in touch if you know someone who might be able to help. PACE is also on the lookout for volunteer drivers who have a valid class D1 licence, which unfortunately is not very common. Again if you can help, please get in touch via me or direct to pace119@btinternet.com .