2 Comments

• 
  Beatriz - 12 years ago

  I too found the wording of the two options biased, showing the village option as boring and outdated option with no room for a night-life.

  A town - planning that disregards the character of the High Street, heavy traffic through the shopping street, unpleasant outside space, stressful shopping/going out experience.

  A village - planning that considers the character of the High Street, pedestrian friendly shopping street, pleasant and inviting outside space, enjoyable shopping/going out experience.

  Anyone who has been in an urban village, like Blackheath or Wimbledon, will know they are not the sleepy, quaint villages you find in the country, but vibrant and attractive places.

  Being a town doesn’t seem to attract much funding for Beckenham. On the other hand Bromley North and Orpington villages are attracting considerable more funds than Beckenham to make improvements to the area to make it a more attractive place for residents, visitors and businesses.

• 
  Rod Reed - 12 years ago

  Dear Copers Cope Residents Association,

  The Village branding idea is a well known and widely used technique to encourage community identity, heritage and trade in a given historic location.

  The wording of the vote form seems to imply that somehow Beckenham's status as a town would be affected. Nothing could be further from the truth, a vibrant Village style town centre would be helpful for Beckenham in these dark economic times. The Village character of Beckenham High Street is a strength that should be celebrated so I would encourage people to vote for the Village theme. I am keen,as are many others, for Beckenham to have a stronger voice and this would be achieved by having a new Town Council.
  I realise that some may view this as a paradox but this is precisely the great strength of Beckenham, a great Town but with a Village style High Street.

  Rod Reed