Addington Road – Road Works 15th to 23rd Feb
30th January 2020
Wickham Common Newsletter – January 2020
30th January 2020
A new year… and it’s good to report that our traders are continuing to keep going in spite of much competition from many fronts. Please help them as much as possible by visiting the shops and buying local.
We welcome Mobility Services, which has opened on the corner of Sherwood Avenue and the High Street, formerly occupied by an estate agent. We wish them success.
Watch out for Ollie Polly cafe which should be opening soon, in what was formerly a DIY store (25 High Street). We wish the owner every success with this new venture.
Some of you will have spotted a new business front on Red Lodge Road – the Railway Grill -which, along with the recent refurbishment of the area, is adding a bright, fresh look to the shop frontages.
You may also have noticed new signage for the Leisure Centre. While the Leisure Centre building will eventually be replaced, it is sensible to make the best of the current facilities and encourage customers to stay and use them.
Carrying on quietly in the background is our library which provides exciting and innovative activities for children of varying ages, as well as lectures and courses for adults. Look on-line or call in to find out what is happening – friendly staff members are always available with advice and support.
Features about Rouse Bathrooms and Franco’s Shoes are to be included in our Spring Newsletter which will be distributed to WWRA members during March. The intention of such features is to provide some interesting background to businesses in and around the High Street.
1 Comment
I have considerable sympathy for those shopkeepers trading in West Wickham High Street. Recent changes to parking bays in favour of the, as yet, very limited number of electric vehicles have severely limited parking for more traditionally powered vehicles. In my view the money wasted on ‘improvements’ to the junction at Station Road / Beckenham Road could have been better used to improve the current inadequate High Street arrangements. Significantly the TFL policy to bleed motorists dry for any minor parking infringement can only exacerbate the problem and make shopping in the High Street a less than attractive proposition for motorists. The chaos that arises at times from too many vehicles entering and leaving the M&S car park also needs to be addressed and in reality the parking provision is wholly inadequate for the numbers of vehicles seeking to use the site.
The incidence of theft from shops of all descriptions is yet another unwelcome burden, arising no doubt from a reduced police presence that is only too evident from the appearance of the ever closed police shop in the High Street. As it has hardly ever been open or manned even for short periods and the police budget is so stretched, why is it still there at all?
In about 1970 the High Street ‘welcomed’ single yellow lines, followed by double yellow, succeeded by red and double red lines, all intended to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow. I see no evidence that would support such an outcome and perhaps the opposite is closer to the truth and certainly there have been little by the way of benefits for the humble shopkeeper.