St Andrew's Pre-school open day

Rogue trader gets well deserved prison sentence

A Faversham man has been jailed for three years after conning an 80 year old Beckenham resident out of £21,700.

Phillip Webb, aged 58, from Faversham, Kent had earlier pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation after persuading the resident he needed essential repairs to the guttering on his house, which the resident agreed to have done. Further work was carried out without his permission and he was charged a total of £21,700 for work which was later valued by a Trading Standards appointed expert at £500. Webb was issued with a 5 year Criminal Behaviour Order which bans him from cold calling anywhere in England and Wales.  

Trading Standards were alerted by a concerned neighbour who called the team after seeing the rapid response number advertised locally. Officers visited the victim and while they were there Webb unexpectedly turned up but ran off when he saw them. He was later arrested by police on a different matter and presented to Trading Standards for questioning.  

Webb is well known to Bromley Trading Standards who have previously prosecuted him for similar offences, the most recent in 2012 when he was jailed for 8 weeks and given a 2 year ASBO banning him from trading in the borough. In 2011 he was imprisoned for 8 weeks suspended for a year for charging vulnerable residents for bogus repairs.  

On sentencing the Judge said the offences “were serious and preying on elderly people rightly draws public disgust and outrage. The impact on the victim was substantial”.  

A victim impact statement was read out in court by the consumer who said: “I used to take people at their face value and trusted them in what they said. I am now less confident and don’t trust people. On the last day he was here he was aggressive, and looking back I think I was a bit afraid of him”.  

The Trading Standards Rapid Response Team can be contacted on 07903 852090.

If you are approached by cold callers do not engage with them. If you do then check with trading standards at the above number before letting them do any work or paying them any money. You can also contact Action Fraud at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or phone them on 0300 123 2040

If you have an elderly or vulnerable neighbour who may be being scammed you should report it as happened in this case.

RE-DEVELOPMENT OF 87-93 OAK TREE GARDENS

Links Estate Residents’ Association

For your urgent attention – before the New Year if you can

Dear Resident

RE-DEVELOPMENT OF 87-93 OAK TREE GARDENS – NEW PLANNING APPLICATION

You should be aware that following the refusal by the Planning Inspector of the planning application to re-develop the site occupied by Nos 87, 89, 91 and 93 Oak Tree Gardens, the developers have now submitted a new application to Bromley Council as follows:

REFERENCE NO: DC/15/05324/FULL1 Demolition of 89 and 91 Oak Tree Gardens and erection of 7 two storey four bedroom dwellings with accommodation in roof space on land to the rear comprising of 3 terraced dwellings and 2 pairs of semi-detached dwellings, single garage for No. 87, associated access, parking, landscaping, cycle and refuse.

You can view the planning application and related plans and documents on the Council’s website – www.bromley.gov.uk.  Click on the Planning Applications button and search on Oak Tree Gardens.  The application documents can be found by clicking on the 1st entry on the list.

If you wish to object to the planning application, you must do this by TUESDAY 5^th JANUARY 2016 if possible, or otherwise before TUESDAY 9^th FEBRUARY when the Council is expected to make a decision on the application. 

You may register your objection in the Comments section on the planning website – click on the 2^nd tab – or by writing to Planning Support Team, Town Planning, London Borough of Bromley, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley BR1 3UH, quoting the reference number above and giving your name and address.

On behalf of its members, LERA will be opposing the application on grounds that take account of the reasons for the refusal of the previous application.

Further information will be posted on LERA’s website – http://leralink.blogspot.com – and on our Facebook page – search on Links Estate Residents Association Community Group.

If you would like to discuss this with a LERA representative, please contact:

Stephen Hodges Tel: 020 8851 5950 or Michelle Pike – Tel: 020 8857 0067

Burnt Ash Library Christmas Opening times

Will the library still be there for Christmas 2016? Why not visit and borrow a few books to encourage the Council to keep it open.

Parking arrangements for Christmas and New Year

If you are looking for a place to park over the festive period, please be aware that normal restrictions apply on all dates except 25 December, 28 December and 1 January. The parking arrangements for these dates are as below.

Parking information for Christmas and New Year 2015/16 

Date	Parking restrictions	On street paid for parking bays	All council operated car parks
Christmas DayFriday 25 December 2015	Please park considerately	Free	Free
Bank Holiday (substitute day for Boxing Day)Monday 28 December 2015	Normal restrictions apply	Free	Charges apply
New Year's Day1 January 2016	Normal restrictions apply	Free	Charges apply

Council-operated car parks will be open throughout Christmas and the New Year as normal.  Parking will be free in all council operated car parks on Christmas Day. 

Please remember: Even on Bank Holidays, residential permit bays are designated only for the use of permit or visitors' voucher holders during the times indicated by the signs.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas and New Year waste and recycling collections

Here are your waste and recycling collection arrangements for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

My usual collection day	My holiday collection day
Thursday 24 December 2015	Collection day as normal
Friday 25 December 2015	Monday 28 December 2015
Monday 28 December 2015	Tuesday 29 December 2015
Tuesday 29 December 2015	Wednesday 30 December 2015
Wednesday 30 December 2015	Thursday 31 December 2015
Thursday 31 December 2015	Saturday 2 January 2016
Friday 1 January 2016	Monday 4 January 2016
Monday 4 January 2016	Tuesday 5 January 2016
Tuesday 5 January 2016	Wednesday 6 January 2016
Wednesday 6 January 2016	Thursday 7 January 2016
Thursday 7 January 2016	Friday 8 January 2016
Friday 8 January 2016	Saturday 9 January 2016

Bromley Christmas Charter Market

• Date: 10 Dec 2015 - 24 Dec 2015
• Every day
• Location: High street, Bromley
• Time: 09:00 - 15:00
• Cost: Free

This year add some sparkle to you Christmas shopping and visit the regular stalls plus additions for gifts, refreshments and more.

With a variety of stalls every day, there will be something different each time you visit so why not take a look?

Open daily from Thursday 10 to 24 December (9am till 3pm Christmas Eve)

Event organiser: Bromley Council 

Telephone: 0300 303 8658

Stay well this Winter

As the winter weather heads this way, Bromley Council is working with health colleagues at the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group to share NHS winter health advice.

The advice will help residents to keep well  during the winter, including encouraging those eligible to get a flu jab.

It also includes information on using the right service if they do become ill this winter when there is added pressure on A&E.  At this time of year it is particularly important for our vulnerable residents and those at risk of ill health to take good care of themselves and home carers visiting elderly and vulnerable residents are also offering advice and information about staying warm, safe and well.

This is part of the council’s work to help prevent avoidable harm to health by raising people’s awareness of the negative health effects of cold weather and enable them to prepare for wintry weather.

For lots more advice and information on how to keep warm, safe and well this winter you can visit
www.bromley.gov.uk/winter or http://www.nhs.uk/staywell

Christmas Services at St Andrew's Church

CHRISTINGLE 

Sunday 13th December 2015 at 4:00 PM for 50 minutes

An atmospheric pre-Christmas celebration using oranges and candles to symbolise Jesus Christ as the light of the world. Money raised goes to the Children's Society to help children in need.

The orange represents the world, the red ribbon Christ's blood, the four sticks God's creations and the four seasons and the candle represents the light of the world

Service of Carols & Readings 

Sunday 13th December 2015 at 6:30 PM for 1 hour

Do join us at St Andrew's for our Carol Service

ADVENT CAROL SERVICE

Monday 21st December 2015 at 8:00 PM for 50 minutes

Mince pies and mulled wine are traditionally served by the St Andrew's Women's Guild after this lovely service with music by BOES and carols sung by the congregation

Carols

Thursday 24th December 2015 at 11:00 PM for ½ hour

Carols before the start of the Midnight Eucharist

Midnight Mass

Thursday 24th December 2015 at 11:30 PM for 1 hour

A specially atmospheric Eucharist on this special and holy night

Family Eucharist

Friday 25th December 2015 at 10:00 AM for 50 minutes

A simple service for Christmas Day with a talk around the crib

Yet Another Fake Courier Scam

This was forwarded by a member of the Petts Wood & Knoll Safer Neighbourhood team :

Wednesday a week ago, I  had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers,"(The name could be any courier company) He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature.

The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.

The courier replied, "I don't know, I'm only delivering the package." Apparently, a card was being sent separately... (the card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a £3.50 "delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction. He added couriers don't carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery.

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and 'John,' the "delivery man," asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. My husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction. He guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, £4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines. The "mobile credit card machine" which the deliveryman carried now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details including the PIN number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed. We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is. Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!"

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Elderly Targeted by Fake Police Officers

This is a message sent via The Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network (England & Wales). This information has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau)

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

There has been a recent series of incidents whereby fraudsters either phone or attend the home address of elderly members of the public, claiming to be police officers.
The fake officer/s will claim that they are investigating a fraud which they believe the elderly person to be a victim of. The fake officer/s will then request the bank cards and personal identification numbers (PIN) of the victim and claim these are needed for investigation purposes. If the first contact was made by a phone call, the fake officer/s will tell the victim that someone will be over to collect the evidence. In one case the victim was instructed to attend their local bank and withdraw all of the money from their account. The suspect was left alone in the victim’s house whilst the victim carried out the instructions.
 Protect Yourself

• Before letting anyone into your home who claims to be from any law enforcement agency, ask to see their identity card and check it by calling 101.
• Ask if they can attend at a pre-arranged time when a family member or friend can also be present.
• If you receive a phone call from a police officer,  ask for their name and force and tell them you will call them back. Wait a few minutes and then use 101 to call them back through their force’s switchboard and verify their identity.
• The Police will never ask for your PIN or passwords. Do not give this information to anyone.
• The Police will never request that you withdraw/transfer any money to them.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040.

Waste Collection Calendar Dec 2015 to May2016

The waste collection calendar can be viewed by clicking on the link in the Pages window on the right hand side. With luck Bromley will deliver the paper version to all houses soon.

Burnt Ash Library Christmas Coffee Morning