BECKENHAM & WEST WICKHAM: Councillors recommend new 'Puffing Billy' street train (From News Shopper)

BECKENHAM & WEST WICKHAM: Councillors recommend new 'Puffing Billy' street train

10:30am Saturday 31st October 2009

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A PUFFING BILLY street train could be chugging its way around Beckenham high street as councillors explore new ways to drive more shoppers into town.

The idea for a £150,000 tractor modelled as a steam engine and pulling a “road train” of passenger coaches was dreamed up by a working party of four Bromley councillors to try and improve Beckenham town centre.

Their report recommended launching a £5,000 feasibility study to see if the train could run through a new £1.8m “shared space” in the high street between Village Way and Bromley Road.

However the ‘Review of Beckenham and West Wickham Town Centres’ says “the majority of the working group felt a road train could operate cost effectively only during school holidays”.

Even so, the 35-page review recommended a trial of the street train for ten days as a Christmas attraction.

The group, led by Councillor Michael Tickner, also recommend raising the River Beck to street level, introducing a new street market and buying a new Beckenham Town sign, costing anywhere between £5,000 and £50,000.

Exotic foliage

Introducing the review, Cllr Tickner said: “It is recognised that these historic town centres deliver a wide-ranging offer of distinctive retail, leisure and entertainment opportunities.

“This working group understands the value that these town centres bring to Bromley and its residents, and has identified a number of practical and wide-ranging recommendations to support the ongoing delivery of a strong town centre identity and quality.”

In West Wickham, the working group, advised by local resident associations, recommended installing a “distinctive feature” such as a statue, water fountain, or exotic foliage at the town’s main roundabout.

New £3,000 street lamps were also recommended for the town.

Acting secretary of the Copers Cope Residents’ Association Nick Carter said: “Beckenham needs something doing to it. Whether these are the things which need doing, I am not sure.

“We need more of the shops people like to shop in.”

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