Betts Park work goes ahead including Platinum Jubilee funds

Enhancements to the children’s play area, installation of new benches for parents, and canal cleansing completed in the summer, and ongoing plinth work for the park.

To date, Bromley Council have awarded Friends of Betts Park £20K from its Platinum Jubilee Parks fund to carry out playground improvement work and refurbishment of the historic park plinth. This is in addition to ongoing project work that has included £17.5K to desilt the historic Croydon Canal, the last remnant of a canal in south London.

Councillor Aisha Cuthbert, Executive Councillor for Environment says, “It is fantastic to see this improvement work in Betts Park move forward.  We are delighted to be working with Friends of Parks groups and resident groups across the borough in support of our greenspaces. A big thank you to Friends of Betts Park for what they are doing as it is making a difference, not just for today but also into the future.”

Walter Leonard, Chair of Friends of Betts Park says, “We are delighted that this work has moved forward, it is something we wanted to see. We know local people care passionately about this park and the work underlines the council’s commitment to helping improve Anerley. We’d love to hear from more local people who want to join our Friends group and help us make further improvements.”

Playground

Bromley Council awarded the Friends of Betts Park £20k from its Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund to help improve the play park and to refurbish the plinth. Work carried out by the council’s contractor idverde in the summer included:

• Painting of the tarmac using colour paints and thermoplastic tape to promote learning through play. This has included hopscotch, a learn-to-ride area, snakes and ladders, alphabet shapes and decorative lines to encouraging running, sprinting and balancing,
• Cleaning of the skateboard and BMX ramps and connecting them together with painted lines of thermoplastic tapes,

Already in active use by the community, the project was completed in mid-July in time for the school holidays.

In addition, the Friends of Betts Park secured £2.5k funding from Hadley Property Group for extra thermoplastic markings, as well as the installation of three benches (made from 100% recycled household waste) within the playground, which were installed in July and will be dedicated with plaques to local characters from the history of Betts Park in September. This continues to help the Friends with their ‘chat to strangers’ initiative, combating loneliness and isolation.

Plinth refurbishment

Last on the schedule is a redesign of the old park plinth which once housed a monument to Penge Urban District Council, being rededicated for the bicentenary of Anerley in 2027 and reinstate a focal point for the town.

The Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund will fund refurbishment and improvement work on the park plinth with:

• The installation of a 13-foot stone or concrete ‘needle’ onto the plinth,
• The resurfacing of the surrounding area.

This work will enhance what has already become a well-known meeting point by creating a landmark, as well as providing a fitting tribute to the bicentenary of Anerley in 2027.

The Friends are continuing to work with the council and idverde to scope the final design and obtain necessary consents required.

Canal Desilting

The council has invested £17.5k in a desilting project for the section of the waterway that runs through the Betts Park, which formed part of the Croydon Canal from 1809 to 1836.

This included:

• Pumping the water out of the canal, and the removal of an estimated 350 to 400m3 of silt, leaf debris and any other waste,
• Transportation of the silt to a compound area on site where it was deposited for reuse as mulch.

Taking an estimated 10 to 15 days, the works took place in August, and were subject to weather conditions and an ecological assessment.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• The £1million of funding for Bromley’s parks supports proposals for a range of enhancements across the borough, including improvements to play areas, enhancements to the natural beauty of public gardens, or biodiversity and upgrading facilities.
• Applications for the Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund were invited for up to £40,000 of funding available for each ward with a ceiling of £20,000 for each proposal, a wide variety of additional applications are expected over the lifetime of the fund.

For media enquiries, please contact Justin Brown, Public Affairs Officer, on 020 8461 7872 or email justin.brown@bromley.gov.uk