Sidcup Spotlight March 2022

SIDCUP SIDCUP BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT MAGAZINE

ISSUE 1 S P R I N G 2 02 2

Spotlight

CONTENTS Voice of Westminster Sidcup Partners Business Proposal 2022–2027

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Sidcup Shows Support

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Sidcup SNT

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London Borough of Bexley

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Skills Events

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Welcome

had the aspiration for some time to produce a publication that would be interesting and informative and give a flavour of the great things Sidcup has to offer.

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Remembering when...

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Profile

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Hospitality

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So, following the positive result of the BID ballot, which confirms that the BID will run for another five years, we are now confident that we can launch the magazine.

Our intention is to publish it on a quarterly basis throughout the duration of the BID term.

ENQUIRIES Sidcup Partners I Elm Parade, Main Road, Sidcup DA14 5NF Tel: 0208 302 4970 cheryl@sidcuppartners.co.uk https://sidcuppartners.co.uk Media No. 1948 Published March 2022 © Benham Publishing PUBLISHER Ian Fletcher Benham Publishing Limited Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park, Liverpool L9 5AQ Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: admin@benhampublishing.com Web: www.benhampublishing.com FEATURES Karen Hall Tel: 07801 788 880 Email: karen@benhampublishing.com EDITOR Jez Davison Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: jez@benhampublishing.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Peter Wilkinson Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: peter@benhampublishing.com DISCLAIMER Sidcup Spotlight is published for Sidcup Partners. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this magazine, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content. Benham Publishing and its agents cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us..

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SIDCUP Spotlight

MAGAZINE LAUNCH COINCIDES WITH POSITIVE BID ANNOUNCEMENT Welcome to the first edition of Sidcup Spotlight, a Sidcup Partners publication. I am very pleased that we can launch our new quarterly magazine in the Spring, which is traditionally the time for renewal and optimism. With all of the Covid restrictions we have had to endure for such a long time now being withdrawn and the days getting longer, there is definitely a feeling that things are getting better. We have

Our intention is that we will retain some regular features and also cover a broad range of topics, such as highlighting new businesses and services.

We hope that the local community will get involved and contact us with items of interest that they would like us to share.

The magazine will also be a platform for Sidcup Partners to highlight the work that we do not only with our businesses but with residents and visitors too. We will also be able to share details of all of our events and competitions.

(Sidcup Partners is a not-for-profit organisation funded by a mandatory levy paid by local businesses and organisations within a defined area in Sidcup.)

Cheryl Curr BID manager

VOICE FROM WESTMINSTER

LOUIE PLEDGES TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY Louie French has been elected as the new Conservative MP for Old Bexley & Sidcup. Louie gave up a high-profile job in the City to take up this role, with the aim of giving back to the community which has shaped his existence.

He says: “I was educated and raised in Welling and Sidcup, before being the first person in my family to study at university. I’m very proud to serve and give back to my local area, but I am not a career politician.

My professional background is in financial services working in the City of London, where I specialised in sustainable investing and research.

“I have a track record of working tirelessly on issues that impact our local area. These include campaigning for better public transport and against cuts to local services, lobbying for step-free access at local train stations, supporting the police, community volunteering and opposing overdevelopment issues linked to Sadiq Khan’s London Plan.

“The business improvement district (BID) does an excellent job.

They’re really proactive in terms of supporting businesses and there’s a lot of excitement about the new cinema coming to the high street.

Louie is also doing his level best to end the tri-borough policing policy, which he believes doesn’t best serve the needs of the local community.

“We now have police officers spread across Greenwich, Lewisham and Bexley,” he says. “The result is that the higher crime areas absorb more police resources, which is not fair on Bexley. This needs to be changed.”

“I’m also pushing for more funding for the Queen Mary’s Hospital because we have an ageing and growing population and we need to improve services to local people.

Because of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people waiting for operations, so we need more funding to deal with this backlog.”

“I’m a local lad who grew up in the area. I understand the needs of local people and in 2014 I became a councillor in Bexley because I wanted to give something back.

“Four years later I became deputy leader of Bexley Council, serving as the Cabinet member focused on businesses, pubs and sports clubs across Bexley by launching a special grant scheme to get money straight into those businesses. I’ve also helped Bexley to become the number one borough for apprenticeships and I’ve done my best to promote the high street and the retailers that make it so special.

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S I D C U P PA R T N E R S B U S I N E S S P R O P O S A L 2 02 2 –2 02 7

FUTURE PLANS We survey businesses annually to identify their priorities to ask what is going well and what needs to be improved. We also use feedback to identify and shape new projects. The market research we regularly carry out has shaped our proposed future plans and if you vote yes will be delivered during our second fiveyear term under four main headings.

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W W W. S I D C U P PA R T N E R S .C O.U K

01. CLEANER AND GREENER Businesses want us to continue with the seasonal floral displays, hanging baskets, barrier baskets and troughs.

• WE WILL extend the displays by adding more troughs outside individual premises.

• WE WILL add some pocket parks, small green spaces with seating dotted around the town, to create space to sit, meet friends, or reflect. We will develop the Green Trail to join up spaces around the town in a coordinated way and will produce a map for visitors to plan their route.

• WE WOULD aim to create a reactive response team who can deal with reported issues within 24 hours. This would cover additional street cleaning, pest control, removing fly tipping and repairing acts of low-level vandalism to keep the town looking presentable at all times.

• WE WILL always be conscious of the impact we have on our environment.

Any of the activities we run we will aim to help reduce our carbon foot print.

We will shop local and use recycled products where we can.

• WE WILL continue to encourage the elimination of single use plastic.

• WE WILL work with the Council to improve air quality by pursuing installation of public electric charging points for vehicles.

• WE WILL help businesses with creating sustainability plans.

02. SAFE AND SECURE • WE WILL exploit the recently launched DISC scheme to help prevent shop lifting and give added confidence to businesses so they can communicate quickly and efficiently with each other.

•W E WILL provide training on fraud prevention and cyber security.

03. MARKETING PROMOTIONS & EVENTS Businesses highlighted the importance of promoting themselves and the town as a whole.

• Sidcup Partners WILL encourage businesses to develop their business profiles on social media and add links to the Sidcup Partners online directory so they can promote offers, opening hours and new services.

• WE WILL continue to provide Christmas lights and use lamp columns for promotional banners.

• WE ARE working with Lamorbey & Sidcup Local History Society to install town signs and murals in appropriate locations around the town.

• WE WILL further develop regular and visiting markets as they have proved to increase footfall.

• WE WILL continue to arrange regular events such as the annual Fringe event.

• WE WILL work closely with landlords to utilise vacant space in imaginative ways.

04. SERVICES TO BUSINESSES • WE WILL continue to offer sponsored training courses to businesses and source more bespoke training to meet the needs of levy payers.

•W E WILL procure services from local suppliers where possible and use recycled materials where we can.

• Business networking WILL BE a regular feature of the calendar, encouraging business to share ideas and work more closely for mutual benefit.

• WE WILL produce a guide to cafés restaurants and bars and support the evening economy by having evening entertainment and events.

•W E WILL look at repurposing spaces created by vacant businesses.

• WE WILL work with restaurants to help them in reducing food waste.

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SIDCUP SHOWS SUPPORT

Photo by Yehor Milohrodskyi on Unsplash

In an outpouring of sympathy Your Move Petty Freeman and Sidcup Partners Ltd were overwhelmed by the donations they received in a matter of hours following a call out from a local Sidcup mother.

The mother reached out to her PTA Our Lady of the Rosary to ask for donations for her home country Ukraine. Sue Petty the chairman of the PTA at the school and Chairman of Sidcup Partners Ltd offered Your Move as a collection point.

The local community rallied round and the office was soon full to the brim with items such as nappies, baby food, medicine, hot water bottles and blankets.

It took the team all day to sort into categories and place into bags but

was an extremely humbling and rewarding experience for all involved.

Several of the contributors were bought to tears when they entered the office and could see the response.

The donations will be collected and driven to the Polish Ukraine border.

Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we hope they understand how people want to help in any way they can.

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Abstract photo created by kstudio - www.freepik.com

SIDCUP SNT

WORKING TOWARDS PROVIDING SAFER NEIGHBOURHOODS Safer Neighbourhood Teams are typically made up of two police officers and one police community support officer. They are responsible for a designated area called a ward. Sidcup SNT work various shifts including some weekends. Neighbourhood officers are nonemergency officers & do not work 24/7. Our typical day to day work involves both foot and mobile patrols of the ward, investigation of low level crime & working with partner agencies, local schools/residents and businesses to try and tackle problems which arise within the ward, for example anti-social behaviour, low level theft, low level criminal damage etc.

We are available for crime prevention advice or reassurance patrols/visits where needed & occasionally hold public engagement events such as catalytic converter/bike marking to name a few.

Our current priorities are set by a ward panel consisting of residents &

those who work on Sidcup ward who meet quarterly. The priorities are to tackle violent crime, burglary & antisocial behaviour. Over the past year the team have spent time tackling vehicle crime, in particular catalytic converter theft by doing both high visibility patrols, covert operations, set up various roadside stop sites

around the borough, conducted unannounced visits on scrap metal yards with Bexley Council & marking catalytic converters for free on cars.

If you would like to speak with your local ward officers you can do so using the details provided and we will be happy to assist where we can.

SIDCUP WARD SAFER NEIGHBOURHOODS TEAM Telephone: 07464 492 489 | Email: sidcup.snt@met.police.uk YOUR TEAM 857SE SGT CATLOW 4491SE PC SCOTT Follow us on Twitter @MPSSidcup

4228SE 7220SE

PC AUSTIN PCSO GRAVES TOTAL POLICING

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LONDON BOROUGH OF BEXLEY

TOWN’S NEW ATTRACTION TAKES SHAPE

London Borough of Bexley is working with Neilcott and cinema operators Really Local Group on the development, which includes a new three-screen cinema, library, nine flats, a café, bar and Changing Places toilet facilities.

It will provide community and cultural activities and new homes in the heart of the town and is expected to deliver a boost to the local economy, including restaurants and retail outlets.

The Really Local Group will fit out and run the cinema, a café and bar, together with a flexible event space.

Cabinet Member for Growth, Cllr Cafur Munir said: “I am really looking forward to the opening of the new building, which we expect will attract a wide range of people and inject new energy into the town centre.

“Memories of the old Blockbuster store are fading, but it will be good to see the site serving the needs of the local community again. ”I would like to thank businesses and residents for their understanding while the work is taking place. I’m really looking forward to seeing them in the new building later in the year.”

Work on the town’s new library and cinema is making good progress and planning is underway for its opening later this year.

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SIDCUP Spotlight

Locally based contractors Neilcott started work early last year and are working hard to get back on schedule after work was delayed due to the impact of COVID on their staff and the construction industry.

The project is an important part of the Sidcup Regeneration and Cultural Programme.

The nine new apartments that are part of the development have been designed by award winning architects DRDH.

SKILLS

been recognised in its Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, a business improvement tool designed to advance an organisation’s performance through its employees.

“When we take on undergraduates on placement, we set aside one day a week so they can attend their university course,” says Sarah. “We understand the value of investing in people.”

“We appointed five new equity partners recently and three of us went to Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School and have grown up in the area. If you’re an employer, its important to immerse yourself in the community. We attend local careers fairs to source talent and make them aware of the broad range of careers in this industry”

PLAYLE & PARTNERS

INVESTS IN LOCAL SKILLS

Founded in 1954, Playle & Partners LLP has been a firm fixture in the Sidcup community for more than two thirds of a century. Starting as Quantity Surveyors, they extended their services to include Architecture, Building Surveying, Project Management, Party Wall Advice and Principal Designer/CDM Consultancy. By adopting a collaborative approach, the firm has delivered complex construction schemes from start to finish, projects that have changed the skyline of Sidcup and benefited the local community.

Playle & Partners has had a positive influence in the area by recruiting local people and developing the next generation of construction talent.

Sarah Primarolo, partner at Playle & Partners, says: “We focus heavily on training and recruit from the locality.

On the back of this we’ve won awards and we were highly commended for our commitment to business,

education and skills in the 2020 London Borough of Bexley awards.”

“We also offer work experience placements throughout the year to young people at school or college. They work one day in each department to give them a flavour of the industry.”

Playle & Partners’ commitment to developing local skills has

Playle & Partners was originally formed as a chartered quantity surveying practice and very quickly developed into a multi-disciplinary consultancy, responsive to the constantly changing needs of clients and the marketplace. With 35 staff, the firm employs Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, Building Surveyors and Principal Designers and covers all aspects of a project, from inception to completion. This collaborative approach promotes a sharing of knowledge and lateral thinking to every client’s brief, informing the design decisions based on sustainability, innovation, cost control and experience. The company’s objective is to deliver the highest level of service, with expert advice, actively pursuing continual improvement to enhance living and wellbeing.

Sarah says: “Most of our work is done in partnership with local authorities, housing associations, schools and charities.

We have a good range of projects, from residential and leisure schemes to refurbishments of schools and community centres. We’re determined to put something back into the community that we’ve known for so many decades.”

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EVENTS

y r a i D s t n e v e of

For more information on each activity please keep checking our website www.sidcuppartners.co.uk Facebook Twitter and Instagram

EASTER

Saturday 16th April Beatrix Potter themed day plenty of fun for all the family including a colourful egg hunt, bonnet making, and the Easter Bunny Bike also lots of prizes to be won.

QUEENS JUBILEE

Saturday 4th June at Sidcup Place. Free family fun day with food, music and entertainment.

ANNUAL SIDCUP FRINGE FESTIVAL

Saturday 3rd September at Lamorbey Park.

HALLOWEEN

Monday 31st October High Street and Station Road dressing up competition and pumpkin trail.

CHRISTMAS EVENT

Saturday 3rd December

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REMEMBERING WHEN…

The photos were taken at the society’s “Sidcup’s Great War: A Living Pageant” community event in 2016

SOCIETY CELEBRATES

70TH ANNIVERSARY

Lamorbey and Sidcup Local History Society has been woven into the fabric of the Sidcup community for the last 70 years. Formed in 1952 as an offshoot from a local history class that met at Lamorbey Park Adult Education Centre, the society was originally called the Local History Group but became a fully-fledged society in 1956. Since then, it has been educating and informing the locals about the people who painted Sidcup’s rich and colourful history.

Committee member Penny Duggan has been involved with the society for the last 20 years.

She says: “There has been lots more interest in local history in the last two years due to the pandemic. Lives have been disrupted so much that people want to reintegrate themselves in their local community. They’re taking more of an interest in their surroundings – the buildings and the history that shaped them, for example.

“We’re working with Sidcup Business Improvement District (BID) to see how we can collectively improve the look of the town and educate people about its history. This can really help to bind people together and foster a sense of community spirit.”

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SIDCUP Spotlight

One successful project was the Our Famous People of Sidcup initiative, which saw banners hung from lamp posts in the high street and Station Road areas of Sidcup in May 2019.

life was like for local residents during 1914-18 and the opening of the Queen’s Hospital in 1917. We had a fantastic event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the hospital in 2017.

“This celebrated a selection of people who previously lived in Sidcup and their achievements,” says Penny. “It’s just one output from our Echo Project, which is being led and developed by the society in consultation with the Sidcup BID team and the London Borough of Bexley. The purpose of the project is to celebrate Sidcup, to encourage interest in its past over the last 150 years and have a positive effect on the street scene.

“This followed on from our living history event, Sidcup’s Great War: A Living Pageant, which was held in 2016. Its purpose was to commemorate life on the Home Front in Sidcup during World War I. This provided an exciting opportunity for the whole community, including local businesses, schools, choirs and churches, to get involved in different ways.

“Another popular initiative was our Sidcup’s Home Front in the Great War project, which focused on what

“Essentially, the society has played an important role in Sidcup in the last 70 years. We’re looking forward to continuing this for decades to come.”

ST JOHN’S CHURCH OFFERS WELCOME AND SUPPORT FOR SIDCUP COMMUNITY

PROFILE

“Our church, which is just off Sidcup High Street, is a place where people of all faiths and none can find a home.

We completed a building project during the first lockdown which has given us extensive new facilities.

Thanks to this we were able to open a ‘Place of Welcome’ on Wednesday mornings – the doors are open to all with a warm welcome and free coffee, cake, chat and more.

“We also run a toddler group on Fridays and this is popular as a way for parents and carers to make connections with each other. We host different live music events with local musicians, and we have an active bell tower.

“There are various weekly services as well as many events marking important family occasions, such as christenings, weddings and civic ones too, like Remembrance Sunday.”

Cathy has been vicar here for the last four years, but her early career was radically different.

“I worked in the City for 21 years in various different roles; they included mathematical modelling, operations management, product management, then global learning. There are lots of opportunities in a large multinational!

I also became a physics teacher for a short while.

It has been a testing time for many people in the COVID-19 pandemic.

People have lost loved ones to the virus, some businesses have had to close their doors, and some people have suffered from poor mental health due to being isolated from friends and family.

In such a challenging environment, we are forced to remember what really matters: connection, love, support, faith. Reverend Cathy Knight-Scott, vicar at St John the Evangelist Church in Sidcup, says that the church is a source of support and friendship for members of the local community.

She says: “This is a church for all of the community. In lockdown, so many people struggled and the effects remain. Humans are sociable creatures; we’re not programmed to exist in isolation from one another.

“All of this was good but there was something lacking. I somehow felt God calling – which was weird as I was an atheist – and I started going to church.

I found I wanted to help other people, to give something back in life.”

In 2017 Cathy completed a degree in ministerial theology with Durham University and became vicar of St John’s a year later.

“This church is central to the local community,” she says. “Every year we host numerous Christmas events and we’re involved with the local food bank helping people who’ve fallen on hard times. The vicar’s life is incredibly rewarding and I’m glad I made the career change.”

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HOSPITALITY

THE SIDCUP & FOOTS CRAY UNITED SERVICES CLUB IS 100 YEARS OLD!

from war damage, funds would have to be raised to a minimum of £4,000.

In November 1945, 108 Main Road, was purchased for £3,000 and Messrs Fremlin’s agreed to advance a loan of £4,000, in sums of £300 deposit and £2,700 and the balance when needed at a later date. The club as we know it now, based at 108 Mian Road, was opened on Thursday 28th February 1946.

As the decades have gone on the Club’s ethos has slowly steered towards the remembrance of our Armed Services whilst providing a social hub for the local community The Club has recently undergone a full refurbishment and can now proudly promote itself as one of the best social clubs in the area, offering a warm welcome in bright and airy surroundings, good beer, lovely staff and a great atmosphere. There is free live entertainment every week, we have a new professional chef onsite and a separate snooker room with 2 professional snooker tables and dartboards.

The club was founded in 1922, after a group of ex-servicemen gathered together with the object of forming a club with the ideals of maintains the comradeship that was formed during this terrible war, and after much searching - not only for suitable premises but for finance as well - the club was to be formed at 171 Main Road.

The first statutory meeting was held at the local Council Offices on Thursday 12th January 1922. when over 50 ex- servicemen present unanimously resolved the Sidcup & Foots Cray United Services Club be opened on Saturday, 4th February 1922. The first President of the Club

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was to be J.C. Pullman, and the VicePresident T Todrick, It was on 7th July 1945, where an offer was put forward to the Club to purchase 108 Main road for the sum of £3,000, it was reported that owning to the age and poor repair

The Club has a fantastic function room that also underwent a refurbishment only a few years ago and is the best keep secret in Sidcup. It’s available for private hire and is also used for the bigger, live entertainment Club events and is professionally managed by our inhouse management team.

If you are looking for a local, family friendly social Club in a warm and safe environment, offering all of the above, then we would love to invite you to join us. If you already know a member then they will be happy to introduce you or if you don’t know anyone then just drop us an email to info@uscsidcup.com or from the contact page on our website www.uscsidcup.co.uk and we will be delighted to meet you.

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Quality • Local • Approachable Contact us to find out how we can help you and your business thrive Nexus House, 2 Cray Road, Sidcup, Kent DA14 5DA 020 8309 0011 | info@mcbridesllp.com | www.mcbridesllp.com