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24 April 2019
The minutes of the meeting of the Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society on 3 January 2019 and agenda for the meeting of Ravensbourne Valley Residents on 2 May 2019 have been added to our web­site for members to down­load using this link.
9 April 2019
A further planning application purports to have details submitted in respect of conditions in connection with planning permission for the demolition of the building at 50 Ashgrove Road, Bromley and the construction of 2 two-bedroom maisonettes and 2 four-bedroom houses. See this link.
4 April 2019
A further planning application has been made with details of conditions submitted in relation to the planning application for the demolition of the host dwelling and erection of a new detached house at 24 Downs Hill, Beckenham BR3 5HB. See here.
29 March 2019
Proposed plans and a design and access statement are available on the planning application for the demolition of the existing building and erection of two semi-detached houses at The Chalet, Kirkstone Way, Bromley. See this link.
19 March 2019
There are once more two planning applications in place for sub-letting existing space and rooms at Beckenham Place Mansion in Beckenham Place Park, relating to uses including artist studios, yoga/fitness centre, private hire space and business uses, and to listed building consent. See this link for details.
16 March 2019
At our AGM on 7 March 2019, we agreed to change our name from ‘Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society’ to ‘Ravensbourne Valley Residents’. See opposite.
6 March 2019
The Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society AGM will be held on Thursday 7 March 2019 at 8 p.m. at the Bromley Court Hotel. The Big Band from St Dunstan’s College will be entertaining us. See opposite.
5 March 2019
We have become aware of a number of attempted and actual thefts and burglaries recently in our area. In particular, cars with keyless entry appear to be at risk and we advise taking extra precautions – see here.
3 March 2019
A planning application has been made for the construction of a first floor extension and the conversion of the existing 3-bedroom bungalow at 18 Hillbrow Road, Bromley, to provide two self-contained units, together with alterations to the front forecourt. See here.
21 February 2019
During excavation of soils underlying former tennis courts at Beckenham Place Park, suspected asbestos cement was identified. A further planning application comprises details submitted in compliance with Condition 5(b) (contamination discovered during works) of the application  for the proposed regeneration of the park. See this link for details, includ­ing the flood alleviation scheme and Heritage Lottery Fund scheme to transform the park.
18 February 2019
There are proposals for a mini-roundabout at the junction of Foxgrove Road; Park Road, Beckenham;Southend Road, Beckenham; and Beckenham Place Park. Park Road would need to be closed at this junction. See opposite.
11 February 2019
Our latest newsletter has been added to our archive for members to down­load using this link.
9 February 2019
The planning application for the erection of a detached two bedroom dwelling facing Madeira Avenue on land formerly the rear garden of 48 Farnaby Road, Bromley has been refused. See here.
8 February 2019
The application for the erection of a swimming pool/gym and 3 outbuildings in the rear garden of 46 Ravensbourne Avenue, Bromley has been withdrawn - see here.
8 January 2019
The new planning application for the demolition of garages to the rear of 10 Highland Road, Bromley, and the erection of a single 3 bedroom house has been permitted – see here.
6 January 2019
An addendum to the planning statement is available on the application for the demolition of 1-40 Ethelbert Close, 2 Ethelbert Road, 102-108 High Street, Bromley, and miscellaneous buildings to the north of Ethelbert Close, and the redevelopment of the site, which the developers are now referring to as Churchill Quarter. See here for details.
23 December 2018
The new planning application, with details of conditions submitted in relation to the application for the demolition of the house at 61 The Avenue, Beckenham and erection of six flats in 2 two-storey buildings, has been approved. See here.
21 December 2018
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) are finally providing the improved rail service that they promised. There are now four trains an hour in each direction on the Catford Loop on a weekday. Every other off-peak service runs north of Blackfriars, to and from Kentish Town. See here.
6 December 2018
The London Borough of Bromley has started an important consultation on transport in the borough and its draft third Local Implementation Plan for transport (LIP3). The consultation is open until 13 January 2019. See here.
29 November 2018
The appeal has been allowed against the refusal of the application for the change of use from sports hall to residential, incorporating the existing residential unit to form a single 4 bedroom dwelling, new vehicular access on to Bracken Hill Lane and replacement fencing at Flat 39, Blyth Wood Park, 20 Blyth Road, Bromley. The appeal was dismissed against the issue of an enforcement notice for the unauthorised erection of an overheight fence, enclosure, hardstanding and unauthorised access. See here for details.
24 November 2018
Would you be interested in being a Snow Friend? Clearing a path through the snow doesn’t take long, and additional gritting of the cleared path can be done at walking pace. See here.
10 November 2018
The appeal against the refusal of the application to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 has been allowed. See here.
2 November 2018
The report on Beckenham Place Park presented at the last Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society meeting has been added to our website for members to down­load using this link.
30 August 2018
Our annual roundup newsletter is available here for all to read.
23 August 2018
The planning application for the demolition of the existing house and erection of a three storey terrace of 5 dwellings at Trees, Coniston Road, Bromley has been refused. We commented that the development is unsympathetic to the street scene, and detrimental to the amenity of neighbouring property. Further comments relate to historical significance, trees, traffic and highways. See here.
3 August 2018
The planning application for a single storey side extension at 2 Ullswater Close, Bromley has been permitted. See this link.
27 July 2018
We have been unhappy about the state of the pavement outside Millwall FC Training Ground. We are pleased to say that Lewisham Council are now taking action (thanks to Councillor André Bourne) - see here.
8 July 2018
The planning application for the erection of a 2-storey two-bedroom dwelling house on land adjacent to 9 Bracken Hill Lane, Bromley, close to Karen Court and Blyth Road, has been permitted. See here.
22 May 2018
At RVPS, we are committed to maintaining the trust and confidence of all our members, visitors to this website and those we have dealings with. Thus we have added a privacy policy to our site - see here.
17 March 2018
We have received answers to some further questions which we raised with Bromley council on the Crab Hill, Beckenham pay-by-mobile parking scheme in the vicinity of Ravensbourne station. For further information, click here.
1 March 2018
The AGM tonight, 1st March is on but, due to travelling difficulties for the young musicians, the musical entertainment has been postponed.
7 February 2018
The application for the construction of 3 two-bedroom dwellings (1 pair of semi-detached houses and 1 detached dwelling) at Oaklands Court, 6 Oaklands Road, Bromley has been refused. See here.
3 February 2018
We are sorry to announce the death of Bill Brown, husband of a long time RVPS member Barbara Brown. See opposite.
22 January 2018
We have been concerned about the state of the cycle path by the river Ravensbourne recently and have asked the London Borough of Lewisham to repair it. For details, see here.
13 January 2018
The appeal against the refusal of the outline application at 100 Madeira Avenue, Bromley has been allowed. Outline planning permission is granted for demolition of the existing property and the erection of 2 three-bedroom townhouses and 1 four-bedroom townhouse . See this link.
2 January 2018
Bromley Council have advised that they are proposing to introduce double yellow lines at the junction of Madeira Avenue and Highland Road. If residents or road users have any comments, please put them in writing by 17 January 2018. See this link.
24 December 2017
The resubmitted planning application for the construction of a single storey building on land at Ambleside, Bromley (rear of 13 Calmont Road) to provide a children’s crèche has been refused.  See here.
24 November 2017
The outcome of the hearing on the licensing application by Shortlands Golf Club to increase their hours of operation is available. Sale or supply of alcohol only up to midnight will be permitted on Friday and Saturday. See this link.
1 November 2017
The application for a single-storey rear extension and first floor extension, and subdivision of the property to form two 3-bedroom houses at 1 Ullswater Close. Bromley BR1 4JF has been permitted. See here for details.
25 October 2017
A decision for planning conditions has been issued on the application with details of conditions submitted in relation to the partial demolition of 81 Ravensbourne Avenue, Bromley, and the erection of a detached dwelling. See here for details.
15 September 2017
The playing field next to the river Ravensbourne (sometimes referred to as ‘Goan’ or ‘Times’) has been partially fenced. See here.
9 August 2017
The application to fell three pine trees in the front garden of 16 Crab Hill, Beckenham was refused on 27 March 2017. For this and other tree news, see this link.
Working with the Community
Welcome to our website. We are a residents' society covering an area of 1500 house­holds of which nearly 500 are subscribing members. Our objective is to maintain and enhance the built en­viron­ment and to generally enhance the area for the benefit of residents.

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Please use the following box to perform a search of the Ravensbourne Valley Residents site:

  The Web RVR
Change of name of the society
At our AGM on 7 March 2019, we agreed to change our name from ‘Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society’ to ‘Ravensbourne Valley Residents’. See this letter from our chairman, which also includes a request for a volunteer to help us modernise our website.
2019 annual general meeting
The Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society AGM, to which all members were invited, was held on Thursday 7 March 2019 at 8 p.m. at the Bromley Court Hotel. Members were asked to vote on the resolution to change the name of the society, with a change in logo.

Those who attended previously were pleased to learn that the Big Band from St Dunstan’s College, a co-educational school for nursery age to 18 year-olds based in Catford, would be entertaining us this year with a selection of popular and well known tunes.

The set included all the following items (but not necessarily in the right order):
  • Georgia on My Mind
  • It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) 
  • I Heard It Through the Grapevine
  • Tequila
  • Birdland
  • Só Danço Samba 
  • Chameleon 
  • September 
  • Africa 
  • I Want You Back
These were also interspersed with some solo items.

New Zealand Herald, March 1914
Plans for mini-roundabout at junction
Anthony Strzalek has posted on the News in Beckenham site that local councillors are looking to address road safety issues around the junction of Foxgrove Road, Park Road, Southend Road and Beckenham Place Park. The proposals would see a mini-roundabout installed at the junction. In order to make the scheme practical, Park Road will need to be closed at this junction.
Bromley's third Local Implementation Plan for Transport (LIP3)
The London Borough of Bromley has started an important consultation on transport in the borough and its draft third Local Implementation Plan for transport (LIP3). The consultation is open until 13 January 2019.
Dates for your diary
Future meetings are on the first Thursday, every other month, at 8 p.m. at the Bromley Court Hotel as follows:

Thursday 2 May 2019
 Members’ meeting

Newsletters
Our annual roundup newsletter is available here. Other newsletters, including the Ravens­bourne Valley Preservation Society 25 year review, are available from our archive for members to down­load.

To those members who have not done so already and would be happy to receive future newsletters by e-mail, please send the following information to the address given in our Download area (or via our Webmaster):
  • YOUR NAME
  • YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS
How to join
You can join us here. For further background information about the Society see About Us.
 
We cover the area shown above, and in more detail here, whilst an Introduction to Planning Issues can be opened here.

Council news downloads
Latest news from the council can be found here or here.

Beckenham Place Park
There are interesting proposals for a new lake in Beckenham Place Park. See this link.
Above: 2014 artist's impression of how the scheme won't look
Below: Beckenham Place Park in March 2019
Our activities
We are publishing a selection of the letters we have written to local authorities to demonstrate the range of activities with which the society is involved. Generally, we receive replies but as we consider that we do not have permission to publish these, we have simply given details of the outcome of the correspondence.
Sunset on the Italian Villa, Elstree Hill
Sunset on the Italian Villa, Elstree Hill, 16 March 2014
A less appealing view of Elstree Hill, at the corner of Madeira Avenue, 19 December 2018
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into your mail program) with your name in the sub­ject line. We will check the name with our mem­ber­ship list and then forward your log-in and password. This will take 3 to 5 minutes.
 
Bill Brown
We are sorry to announce the death of Bill Brown, husband of a long time RVPS member Barbara Brown. Bill died peacefully at his care home with both Carol, his daughter, and Barbara by his side on Monday 29 January 2018.

Bill had been suffering from Parkinson’s for some time and also became unwell with a chest infection and was unable to fight it all. 
 
As both Bill and Barbara spent so many happy years living in Downs Hill, it has been agreed that a cremation will take place at Beckenham Crematorium on Friday 23 February 2018 at 1.30 p.m. Please attend the cremation if you wish.
Road rep news
After many years of service, Roger Legg and Brian Atkinson have stepped down from their roles as the road reps. We are hugely grateful to them both for their contributions in delivering newsletters, collecting subscriptions and generally providing a link between the society and members. We are very pleased that Mick Pinson and Judy Adcock have volunteered to take over their respective rounds and their details can be found here.

Also we currently have a vacancy for the friendly and small Warren Avenue round – if you would like to support us by being the road rep for this road, please contact the Chair.
Please remember!
If you see work being carried out on a protected tree please contact the Council immediately. If you learn of a developer wanting to develop a property please let us know immediately.
Over 60?
Did you know about Age UK Bromley & Greenwich (formerly Age Concern)?

Privacy policy
At RVPS, we are committed to maintaining the trust and confidence of all our members, visitors to this website and those we have dealings with. See our privacy policy.