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Close your street this June for a Platinum Jubilee Street Party!

What are streets for? It has become the norm that motor vehicles get priority on our streets and roads, but this June there is a unique chance to reclaim your local street as a place to build community, celebrate and allow children to play safely.

In recognition that Her Majesty the Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, Bromley Council are waiving road closure fees (£564) for street parties planned between 2-5 June 2022. Planning is underway for Platinum Jubilee Street Parties all over Bromley, and whether you are a royalist or not, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is a great opportunity to reclaim your street and get to know your neighbours better.

Source: The Travel Bunny

What should a street party look like? That is completely up to you, but it typically includes a celebratory meal, music, and games. Talk to your neighbours to find out what they would be interested in, and how they could contribute to the party. Playing Out, a resident-led movement that aims to make streets safer for children to play in, has a lot of ideas on how to use street space in new ways.

Source: Playing Out
Source: Playing Out

You can submit your application here, the deadline is Thursday 10 March: https://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/545/traffic_management/273/street_parties_and_public_events

The list below has links to resources about the Platinum Jubilee and how to organise a street party:

UK Government: The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022
Royal Family: The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022
Government guide to organising a street party
The Street Party Site
Big Jubilee Lunch (Eden Project Communities)
London Play
Playing Out
London Car Free Day

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Campaigning events this week (11 weeks until local elections!)

Tree on car. Photo taken on Bromley Road on 18 February 2022.

As Storm Eunice rages around us, here are some events happening this week which can help you consider how active travel (and related environmental and climate issues) could and should be an area of focus in the local elections on 5 May:

  1. Climate Emergency UK are running two sessions explaining how to use the Council Climate Plan Scorecards they launched at the end of January. One session is on Tuesday 22 February 12-1pm, the other is Thursday 24 February 6-7pm (register here). 
  2. Mums for Lungs are running a webinar on School Streets on Thursday 24 February at 8pm (register here): this is a chance to find out more about School Streets and how to campaign for one, which is well worth doing, not least because Bromley has very few school streets compared to many other London boroughs.
  3. Playing Out are running a webinar on the impact of play streets on active travel, with Chris Boardman as a special guest, on Wednesday 23 February at 2pm (register here). This topic is particularly timely in London Borough of Bromley, as the Portfolio Holder for the Environment (Cllr Huntington-Thresher) recently replied to a question from a resident with the statement that Bromley Council “does not support the concept of Play Streets as such” (response to question 3, here).
  4. If you’re thinking “I’m busy next week but I wonder if there’s anything interesting happening the week after that?” then you might want to consider attending the Council meeting on Monday 28 February (details here), where agenda item 4 includes three petitions relevant to active travel, on (1) Orpington Town Centre, (2) Road Safety at Chislehurst War Memorial Junction, and (3) Climate Emergency.
  5. Finally…if attending virtual meetings doesn’t do it for you, you might want to check out https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/localgroupresources for useful templates, guides, ideas and resources for campaigning.

Stay safe!