Help Save Beckenham Place Park & Public Golf Course

IF EVERY GOLFER IN UK GAVE AT LEAST £1 WE COULD SAVE THIS UNIQUE PARK, MANSION HOUSE AND PUBLIC GOLF COURSE FOR THE PEOPLE OF LEWISHAM!

A Lewisham Council plan to bulldoze Golf Course in order to sell Mansion House and some Grounds! Don't believe it check out link below confirming earlier report - They have decided to close Golf Course by Dec 2016 and have now asked for expressions of interest in the Mansion House! This of course goes against the Cator Covenant which they have done their best to hide!

They have done so despite strong local public opposition and after only consulting about 62 local people while ignoring the thousands against such moves and they have done this by keeping it quiet! Well we are now going to shout from the rooftops

Beckenham Place Park And Public Golf Course was formed when The Cator Family Covenanted their estate to the people of London and they entrusted it to the then London C C alongwith a 9hole Private Golf Course. Showing amazing foresight it was re-opened as a 240 acre Park, Woodlands and Playing Fields and the First Public Golf Course in England. This can be found in the Covenant over which were stringent demands.

At one time it was the most played on course in Europe and was in the Guinness Book of Records until Lewisham council ran it down. A short while ago the Council wanted to sell it or 99 year lease it to the David Lloyd Group but backed by 58000 petitioners and a barrister they successfully stopped the council plans to build a warehouse tennis centre on the eastern side meadows and playing fields and even the golfers were against increasing the footprint of golf to another 9 holes and driving range as we felt to do so would dominate the Park and that 80 acres of golf and 160 acres of parkland, playing, fields, gardens and meadowland and woodlands is just right and in keeping with Cators wishes.

The Mayor has now won funding, in our opinion, on alleged false statements and inaccurate details from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £4.7million to regenerate the park to something it has never been, with no regard for the golfing heritage or the true facts and the many thousands of Park Users even though he and something under 100(so called Public Consultation) wish to pursue a vanity project that involves a costly vandalism of the multi-million pound Public Golf Venue before then embarking on some ever-changing nefarious plans for which there have been no proper explanations of expected revenue streams and from where the revenue would come from?

A recent council meeting partly held because a new petitition had reached almost 6000 (previous petition was 58000) due to shortage of time otherwise would be nearer 58000 also raised serious doubts and concerns expressed by various elected councillors but this has been ridden roughshod over and ignored by the Mayor who wants to steamroller ahead!

My late father had open-heart surgery on the NHS before the mismanagement of Thatchers' and later governments took full effect. He walked to Beckenham Place Park and Public Golf Course and it gave him the inspiration to make returning to golf as part of his recovery plan. The excellent Park where we also walked our dog helped him survive relatively healthily for another 27 years!

I want this marvellous Park to remain free to the Public and the Public Golf Course to remain for people like him perhaps someone else recovering from health problems, or simply the elderly or even the disabled. However I also want it to remain for the grass roots the new blood of new golfers whether they are inner city kids or maybe sports stars like John Regis and Ian Wright who both learnt to play there and who my father was fortunate to meet there. I also want to save it for the local workers of south london who may want to play golf before or after work because once this facility goes they may not have the time or access to get to pay as you places in kent that are not served by public transport and may add anything to 30 mins to an several hours due to travel time and traffic jams, for those who can afford to go by car, as well as significantly adding to their costs and pollution!

I want more schools to use the park and not to be charged but Wide Horizons who the Mayor has already given authority to ask children what they want in the Park currently charge schools sums like £10,000 a day for use of similar facilities! Lewisham Parks should be free.

Why one asks are Wide Horizons asking what to put in the park when HLF already agreed funding on previously submitted plans but did not explicitly state they'd definitely get rid of the golf course? Why too are HLF giving £4.7million to destroy over 100 year old sporting heritage to be restored to something that never existed?

Why give me the money? Simple answer - Expediency and convenience! Well you couLd give to Save Beckenham Park Place 18h Public Golf Course

https://m.facebook.com/SaveBeckenhamPlaceParkGolfC...

and or Friends of Beckenham Place Park but we are drastically running out of time to save this unique venue, it may already be too late, so we need to be able to act quickly and, l.ike everyone who has entrepeneurial spirit, believe I can act quicker without the binding and delays of decision by Committee (as obviously does the Mayor) who has paid no respect to the questions raised by many residents, park users councillors and other stakeholders at recent meetings! See and hear from this link

http://councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk/ieListDocum...

We need a miracle if we are to succeed and I hope some of you will help me make this miracle happen! It would have been terrible for my fatber if he was still alive but he was a fighter for the underdog and never afraid to take on the establishment. Please help me Save this Unique Venue in South London workiing in collaboration of the excellent work of people like Save Beckkenham Place Park and Public Golf Course and also The Friends of Beckenham Place Park

Help Today to make a miracle help David beat the Goliaths of Lewisham Counciil, its Mayor Wide Horizons and all othet interested parties with their own dubious vested interests!

If Beckenham Place Park and Golf Course Can't be saved No Green Spsce in London will be safe!