Keeping you up to date with the latest developments affecting Goddington Park
A night at the movies! - with Orpington Film and Video Makers club
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Low ticket sales has made it unviable to continue with this event but we’ll try again in the autumn. In the meantime if you are interested in sharing memories or photos of Goddington Park, or the self build houses in Avalon Road please email us. If there is enough interest we will organise a separate get together.
Damage caused by motorbikes
This is just one of the many images of damage caused to the fields by motorbikes. Orpington Football Club have applied to Bromley Council’s Platinum Jubilee Parks funding programme for a grant of £3000 which will go towards £5000 match funding needed for anti motorcycle measures around the park. You can read more about this in our January newsletter. You can see the proposed measures on our Vision page. If you are a park user or resident, please email us your thoughts and we will forward them to Bromley Council and OFC.
Our Christmas Quiz helped raise over £200 towards our fundraising goals - thank you to everyone who came along and helped make the evening a success! Head over to the gallery page to see Friends of the Park concentrating really hard!
It’s time for the Goddington Park Christmas Quiz!
Join us on 19th December at Westcombe Park Rugby Club for some festive cheer and friendly rivalry. The winning team will walk away with 4 tickets to the Pratts Bottom Dramatic Society’s renowned pantomime - this year it’s Alice in Wonderland!
Planting in the Park November
Earlier in the year we were approached by a local charity with the idea of creating a quiet, reflective space in the park away from the sports fields and the playgrounds. This would be a space where people could relax with a book, meet with friends, or simply enjoy a spot of forest bathing. Of course there are many spaces within and around the park to do this and we liked the idea of developing one of those areas along these lines. We requested a community copse pack from the Woodland Trust which consisted of 10 saplings each of silver birch, rowan and wild cherry. We’ve planted these at the top of the park where there are already several small tree islands. We’ve placed the rowans parallel to the park run track and the other saplings to create a couple of small copses. The saplings are not very big and we’ve given them some protection with tree guards and taped around the area to warn park visitors to watch where they are treading. We’ve also planted hedging plants alongside the under 5s playground, continuing the line of hedging that was begun a couple of years ago. Those saplings are dog rose, hawthorn, hazel, crab apple, and dogwood. We’ll keep an eye on all the saplings and by next summer they should be able to fend for themselves and we’ll remove the tree guards. Here are a couple of pictures - head over to the gallery to see more!
They’re smaller than we expected!
tree guards from unused piping - reusing materials where we can
Our September meetup saw around 40 people join us at the Westcombe Park Rugby Club. To find out what went on, head over to October’s newsletter! We intend to have at least 3 meetups a year.
Photo Calendar Competition - deadline 8th November
How many photos do you have on your phone? Why not put some to good use and enter them into our competition!
A tree for John
Ever since our first consultation around the under 5s playground, people have commented on the lack of shade, so we were delighted when Liz Baker approached us to see if she could donate a tree to remember her friend John Bunce. John was young at heart and the tree, a native UK species, has been planted to overlook the space where Goddington Park’s under 5s play and have fun. You can see a short film about the planting here.
We are now fundraising for a bench to go under the tree!
Come to a Friends of Goddington Park Meetup on 18th September, 7.30pm at the Westcombe Park Rugby Club
2024
The Friends of Goddington Park had a stall at the Friends Fair at High Elms in early September. This was a great chance to meet other Friends groups and be inspired by their achievements. Following the fair, some of the FOGP committee attended one of Darrick and Newstead Woods’ meetings to find out how they do things and we came away with a few ideas which we hope to put into practice in 2025!
We’re delighted that our calendar photos will be selected by Martin Bamford. Martin is a former Chartered Financial Planner turned portrait photographer. He serves as chairman of Knowle Park Trust, overseeing a 60-acre country park in Cranleigh, Surrey. When not capturing portraits or driving a tractor, Martin enjoys trail running, open water swimming, and wildlife photography.
2025
Orpington Bowling Club is opening its doors on
February 17th and extend a warm invitation to FOGP members to join them
for a hot drink and a biscuit or two, and find out about becoming a member.
Please leave muddy dogs and boots at home and come along between 10 and 12. This is the first of 3 monthly drop ins to take us through the miserable winter months into Spring.
some of our volunteers at work - head over to the gallery for more photos!
you were invited!
Join us in an informal get together before the nights set in - meet your park neighbours and share ideas for the park
Coffee morning
July updates
May updates
Join our first Yoga in the Park taster session led by Dr. Sunil Gupta and his team from Bromley Common’s Healthy Living Yogashram.
Head over to Eventbrite to book your ticket!
The under 5s playground is now open! Pop over to the gallery to see before, during and after pics and watch this space for new developments!
April updates
November updates Brilliant news! Our application to Bromley Council’s Platinum Jubilee Park’s Fund has been successful! Thanks to your support, we now have £20,500 to spend on the refurbishment of the under 5s playground at the Berrylands entrance. The refurbishment will be managed by Idverde working alongside playground designers Kompan. Keep checking in for updates on progress - and look out for a special celebratory event to open the park in early 2024! We are thrilled to be creating a playground that our under 5s deserve! Read all about it here!
The first phase of the playground refurbishment will get under way on 22nd April. Work is scheduled to take seven days and we are hoping to mark completion with a low key celebration over the May Bank Holiday. We’ll be posting photos on social media once the work is under way so that you can keep an eye on progress.
This first phase is to instal a central climbing tower, replace the tired yellow car with a police car, replace the two springers with new ones and make good the surfaces under new equipment.
We’re all super excited and looking forward to shiny new playground equipment for Goddington Park’s under 5s to enjoy!
2023
October updates
Book your court at https://www.lta.org.uk/play/ and pay just £25 a year to play on any public court in Bromley for free!
A big shout out for considerate parking by everyone who came to watch Orpington F.C. play in the park on Sunday. One of the players sustained a nasty fracture to his ankle and an ambulance had to be called. Fortunately this week the emergency gate was clear and the ambulance was able to gain access. Thoughtful parking meant he could be taken to hospital quickly where we hope he is making a speedy recovery. Thank you!
September updates
You smashed it! Our Crowdfunder campaign has raised £1,063 which exceeds our target and gives us more than enough match funding to apply for Bromley Council’s Jubilee Parks Fund. Thank you! to everyone who has shared, liked, commented, signed and donated to our cause - we could not have done it without you!
QUIZ NIGHT
22nd September 2023 at Westcombe Park Rugby Club
Goddington Lane, BR6 9SX
Get your tickets on Eventbrite or email us friendsofgoddingtonpark@yahoo.com.
A great night out and a worthwhile cause!
August updates
Thanks are due to our unofficial park ranger Emmanuel, whose persistent efforts over the past 3 years have resulted in a new look for the tennis courts, courtesy of the Lawn Tennis Association. The courts will be out of action for about six weeks while the work is carried out. We are all looking forward to seeing the FOGP committee members and other park users back in action with their racquets!
Great news! our Crowdfunder campaign is under way, so please head over and take a look at the Goddington Park under 5s playspace campaign -if you want to take the short cut this QR code will take you straight there!
Sadly Bromley Council have again had to take the decision to close all car parks in Bromley until further notice. This is due to the increased risk of unauthorised encampment. Please be mindful of residents’ access needs if parking in the streets around the park.
July updates
Great news! our fundraising campaign got off to a great start in July thanks to a £100 donation from a local organisation. Only £400 to go!
27th June consultation event at Blenheim Centre
We had a great morning meeting local parents, carers and children, listening to their ideas and thoughts about the park. The overwhelming view is that the under 5s play area is a much valued local amenity which is in dire need of refurbishment. We spoke to over 50 parents and carers and bent the ear of Cllr. Kim Botting who spared time from her busy schedule to join us. If you missed us, you can still see the plans at the Centre until Thursday 29th July. Just drop in if you’re passing and take a look!
top - Friends of Goddington Park and Cllr. Botting
bottom - staff of Blenheim Family Centre and Cllr. Botting
27th June - come and see our playground plans at Blenheim Children and Family Centre, Blenheim Road, Orpington, BR6 9BH.
We’ll be there from 9 - 12 so come and say hello! This is your chance to tell us what you would like to see in the playground and find out how you can get involved with the Friends Group. We’d like to say thank you to Bromley’s Mayoress Cllr. Kim Botting who will also be attending and of course to the Blenheim Centre for facilitating the event.
Show your support by signing up as a supporter on our fundraising page
June 2023 - Park Gates Are Open Again
Bromley Council have lifted the order to close all park gates in the borough. Road works to slow traffic in Court Road continues, making the approach to Goddington Lane a little tricky. Please be mindful of local residents who require access to their driveways, as well as pedestrians, especially where there is no footpath.
14th July 2020 - Fatal Dog attack
Dear all,
Goddington Park is an amazing place for dog-walking.
Dogs need regular exercise to keep them fit & stimulated. Exercise is not only important in providing physical activity for a dog, it also provides opportunities for toileting, investigation, exploration as well as that all-important interaction with people and their canine friends.
Due to a recent incident at the park whereby a small dog was fatally attacked, please can we remind everyone to be mindful of others. Dogs are a massive part of our park and should be able to run freely. To allow this to continue, it is paramount that dog owners/minders always have full control of their dogs.
Whether you own a large dog or a miniature breed, and however calm and friendly your dog is, the Dangerous Dogs Act still applies to you.
Under the Act, it's illegal for a dog to be 'out of control' or to bite or attack someone.
Lets make Goddington Park a safe haven for all concerned.
Stay safe & keep our park safe for all users.
Thank you
Team FOGP
16th June 2020
Public urged to report sightings of tree pest Oak Processionary Moth
Please see the link below for more details