Annual canvass for Register of Electors

What is the annual canvass?

Every autumn, by law, the Electoral Registration Officer prepares a revised register of electors that is published on 1 December. The only way the Council can ensure that they have correct and up-to-date information is by delivering a registration form to every address in the borough.

The form is pre-printed with the names of the electors currently on the register of electors at your address.  When you receive your form, you need to check the details and make any amendments if necessary. 

Every household must return a completed form. To save money the form will only be collected if you have not returned it by 15 October. Failure to return the form could lead to a fine of up to £1,000. You may also find it difficult to obtain credit for a loan or mortgage. If you are not on the register of electors you will be unable to vote in future elections.

If the form is correct you can confirm your details by phone, internet or text using the security codes on your form.

If you have to make changes or to add or remove people then the instructions are to return it by post, in person to the Civic centre or to fax it. They have not mentioned that you can scan the amended form and send it as an email attachment to electoral@bromley.gov.uk

The register of electors is separate from other Council records, so, for example, being registered for council tax does not automatically put you on the register of electors. If you are eligible to vote make sure your name is included on the register of electors.

Garden Bonfires

At this time of year particularly it is very tempting to have garden bonfires. These may be a nuisance to neighbours and spoil their enjoyment of their gardens. To avoid your neighbours complaining to Environmental Health you should follow the following guidelines. The London Borough of Bromley may take into account, when investigating any complaints concerning bonfires, whether the guidelines and in particular the minimum standards have been followed.

Guidelines

1) Compost as much garden rubbish as possible and burn only when there is no reasonable alternative method of disposal.

2) Avoid lighting fires in unsuitable weather conditions. Smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening.

3) Avoid burning at weekends and on Bank Holidays, especially on warm days, when other people wish to enjoy their gardens.

4) Garden refuse should be dry before burning and care must be taken to add material to the fire in small quantities only. Sudden heaping of large amounts of rubbish on the fire produces large quantities of smoke. The golden rule is to feed the fire little and often.

Minimum standards of care and conduct

1) Site the bonfire as far away from neighbours' premises as possible.

2) Do not light a fire when weather conditions will cause problems. The fire should be lit only when the wind is light and steady in a direction which would cause the least annoyance - and never when the wind is blowing towards neighbouring houses.

3) Extinguish the fire if it is causing, or is likely to cause, any nuisance to adjacent residents.

4) Never add household rubbish, plastic or rubber materials to the fire, or use sump oil to set it alight.

5) Bonfires should never be left unattended. Do not allow the fire to smoulder; douse it properly with soil or water.

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Safer Neighbourhood Team Surgery

The next Plaistow and Sundridge Safer Neighbourhood Team Surgery will be held at the Brook Lane Community Church, Brook Lane, Downham on Friday 28th September from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. Everyone is welcome to discuss any crime concerns they may have.

Details of police activities in September in the Borough can be viewed on the following webpage:-

http://content.met.police.uk/Page/NewsBulletins?scope_id=1257246959918&sourceview=team

There is also an appeal about a high risk missing person

Police are very concerned for the safety of a man who is missing from Green Parks House Hospital, Farnborough, Bromley.
John Sheehan, aged 56 (29/11/55), who is a voluntary patient at the hospital, was last seen around 17.00hrs on Sunday, 23 September.

John is 5ft 8ins tall. He has black and grey receding hair, grey facial stubble and is of slim build. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black trousers and black shoes.

He is suffering with bi-polar and requires his medication, without which he is likely to become a danger to himself.

He is believed to be using public transport and is known to frequent the Bromley, Lewisham, Greenwich, Croydon, Bexley, Walthamstow, Westminster and West Sussex areas.

PC Richard Teall from Bromley Police's Missing Persons Unit said: "We are very concerned for John's welfare and urge him to contact his family or police as soon as possible. His family are worried about him and wish him to return home. They need to know he is safe and well".

Anyone with any information should contact Bromley Police's CID on 020 8284 8859 or Missing People on 116 000.

Jumble Sale and Auction 6th October

The 25th Bromley (St Andrews) Scout Group will be holding a Jumble Sale and Auction on Saturday 6th October at St. Andrews Church Hall, Burnt Ash Lane.

Doors open at 2pm.

The scouts will be collecting jumble in this area on Sunday 30th September from 11am. You may have received an orange flyer giving details of the sale and collection times. If you have jumble then place it outside on Sunday and attach the flyer to it. To avoid unscrupulous collectors stealing the bags then place the orange flyer in your window and the scouts will call.

They will not accept TVs VCRs, computers, printers, furniture, vacuums, bikes or very large articles of low value. If you want to get rid of such items then you can offer them out on Freecycle. You will need to sign up at http://www.freecycle.org/ and join the Bromley group. If you offer your goods on Freecycle then you should describe them honestly and other group members who want them will arrange to collect them. There are some rules - you cannot charge for them (that's why it is Freecycle)  and you cannot offer live animals of any sort.
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Open House Bromley 22nd and 23rd September

Open House London showcases great design in every London Borough. Find out what you can see in Bromley this weekend 22 and 23 September. There are 13 places in the Borough of Bromley.

Places open include Biggin Hill Airport, Bromley and Sheppard's College, Bullers Wood, Camden Place, Sundridge Park, Eltham College.

To see the complete list click on the link below:-

londonopenhouse Bromley

The website also has links to places across all of London.

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Mammoth Book Sale 29th September

There will be a book sale at St Andrew's Hall, Burnt Ash Lane on Saturday 29th September from 10am to 4pm.

Other items will be for sale and refreshments will be available.

Reporting Street and Footway Problems.

It is very easy to report problems to Bromley Council. You can fill in one of the cards available from libraries but it is quicker to use the "Report It" link on the council website.

http://www.bromley.gov.uk/

Once there you can choose the sort of problem you want to complain about. The page looks as follows:-

On this webpage you can click on the link for the type of problem you want to report. For example if you want to report overhanging foliage you would click on Road and pavement problems. This takes you to a page which gives some more details of the types of problems Bromley can deal with. At the bottom of the page is another link:-

 Clicking this link opens a form where you can enter the postcode or Street name :-

This will open a map and you can click on the position where the problem is and this places a marker on the map and then opens some boxes for you to fill in Subject, Details, Category, Upload Picture and email. It helps if you can provide a picture. They will send you an email to confirm the problem and let you know when it has been dealt with.

Burnt Ash Library Reading Group September

The next meeting at Burnt Ash Library is on Thursday 27th September at 2.15 pm and everyone is welcome.

The book to be discussed is:-

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

Oscar and Lucinda is a moving love story and a historical tour de force that is also powerfully contemporary. A novel which tells the story of Oscar Hopkins, an Oxford seminarian with a passion for gambling and for Lucinda Leplastrier, a Sydney heiress with a fascination for glass. The year is 1865. When they meet on the boat to Australia their lives are changed for ever.

Every one is welcome.

For more details visit the library or contact the librarians on 020 8460 3405 or by email at burntash.library@bromley.gov.uk

For details of other activities at the Burnt Ash Library see the following link:-

http://www.bromley.gov.uk/directory_record/34386/burnt_ash_library

Resurfacing of Burnt Ash Lane

Just in case you have not noticed the warning signs and the very large machine parked near St Andrew's Church. Burnt Ash Lane residents were sent a letter warning of the disruption.

Burnt Ash Lane between Kynaston and Southover is being resurfaced starting on Monday 17th September. The work will take at least four days and much of the work is being carried out in the evenings and at night between 7 pm and 4 am. The signs are a bit contradictory. The main sign says it will last 10 nights.

All the parking bays have been suspended and one of their signs is shown below

This one says (in handwriting) that parking is suspended from the night of Monday 17th to Friday 21st, which would only be five nights.

They are obviously expecting some serious work as there is already this machine parked there.

Presumably they will do one side at a time and have temporary traffic lights although the Bromley Council website refers to "Substantial carriageway and foot way reconstruction".  

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Classic Film Club St Andrews Hall, Burnt Ash Lane 17th September

Night and Day (1946)

 Starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith

The fictionalized biography of composer Cole Porter from his days at Yale in the 1910s through the height of his success to the 1940s.

Monday 17th September

 Doors open at 6.45pm film show at 7.00pm

Cost £2 minimum donation per person is suggested to include refreshments at the interval.

For more information ring:-
Brian at James Harper 020 8464 0080
Rev'd Angela King      020 8313 3434
Rev'd Liz Davis           020 6460 4672

All welcome, come and enjoy a local evening out