COPERS COPE: Residents' association back on the agenda

4:27pm Saturday 14th March 2009

COPERS Cope Residents’ Association is set to make a revival after almost a year out in the cold.

The residents’ association, established in 1936, will host its first public meeting in a year on March 25 at Bromley Road Infant School, St George's Road in Beckenham.

Chairman Maurice Hudson said: “This will be our formal annual general meeting, giving us a chance to look at what has happened and why, and find more people who are willing to devote a little bit of their time or skills to help protect or improve our quality of life here.

“A community of our size really needs an active Residents Association and now we aim to get things moving again.”

Items on the agenda include the Copers Cope controlled parking zone and similar schemes for Beckenham Place Park and Crystal Palace Park.

The meeting starts at 8pm.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/4203448.COPERS_COPE__Residents__association_back_on_the_agenda

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Beckenham_UK@yahoogroups.com On Behalf Of Martin Grainger
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 7:43 PM
To: Beckenham_UK@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Beckenham_UK] Residents' groups

 

Hi Nick,

 

I think a bit of both to be honest.

 

Without them it seems a lot of developers, planners, and so on can ride

roughshod over residents.  I've seen it quite a few times, and I've seen

active residents' associations prevent things from going ahead that would

otherwise have had a fairly devastating effect on communities.

 

My parents live in a small village that started being developed in the 60s,

and although it suffered at the hands of developers, not as much as it could

have, or as other neighbouring villages have.

 

However, I know places where active resident's associations did all they

could to prevent a development which just went ahead anyway.

 

And, as you say, there are many that turn into gossip circles, with personal

vendettas and a lot of backstabbing.

 

I think part of the problem is that people just don't live in communities

any more - we all have our own lives and many people have never even spoken

to their neighbours.  People are also more transient and don't tend to live

in the same place or house for the whole of their life.  The final nail in

the coffin is that people just don't have the time to dedicate to local

groups, and going to meetings often feels like being slowly boiled in red

tape!

 

It is rather sad.  I no longer live in Beckenham, but when I pass through it

does seem to have less of a community feel than it did even 10 years ago, I

don't know why I get that impression.

 

I now live on the other side of Bromley but there don't seem to be any email

lists or web forums such as this for my area - and unfortunately I don't

really have the time to do anything more positive...

 

I've also been a bit saddened by the lack of activity on this email list - I

don't actively promote it, but it is linked to on the beckenham.net website

(well, it used to be, I can't find it now...).  There are still several

hundred members signed up if I remember correctly.  Anybody have any ideas

how it could be promoted?  I think email/web based communities are perhaps

the forward with todays time pressures...  Just noticed there are a few

Beckenham related groups on Facebook.

 

Interestingly, just noticed that the Copers Cope RA website no longer exists

either.

 

Sorry for the ramble...

Martin.

 

 

 

2009/3/12 Nick Carter

 

>         Do you think residents' associations are worth having, to keep an

> eye on development projects, licensing, road and transport changes and the

> like - or are they just talking shops for busybodies, not worth the time or

> effort?

> 

>        Some of us  have noticed the virtual silence for the past 12 months

> of what was, and perhaps still is our biggest local residents' body, the

> Copers Cope Area Residents' Association - no meetings, no issues of its

> newsletter The Express, no press mentions of activities.

> 

>            The reasons will almost certainly include illness among the

> volunteers, people moving away, pressure of other activities and shortage of

> new helpers -- details are to be aired at an Annual General Meeting

> (actually the only meeting since last year's AGM) , to be held at 8 p.m. on

> March 25th  at the Primary School next to St George's Road car park.

> It's certainly not a duty to go, but maybe. . . . . .

> 

> Nick Carter