Strike-week NHS advice and summer fair dates
Published Thursday 11 June 2026
NHS advice for next week's doctors' strike, Saturday's Mansion Market, Penge Festival picks and school fair dates to save.
Top Updates
Doctors' strike runs Monday to Friday next week
Resident doctors are on strike from 7am on Monday 15 June to 7am on Friday 19 June, and hospitals will be very busy. If you have a hospital, GP or dental appointment next week, go to it unless you are contacted and told not to. The NHS in south east London also suggests ordering any repeat prescriptions in good time through the NHS App, your GP practice website or by phone.
Paxton bust back on top of Crystal Palace Park
The restored bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, designer of the Crystal Palace, is back in its original spot on the Italian Terraces at the top of Crystal Palace Park after a steam clean and a new plinth. The terraces stay fenced off until the current phase of regeneration works finishes this summer, but the rest of the park is open as usual, with footpath diversions signposted.
Have your say on SEND support into adulthood
Bromley Council is running a Big Conversation survey on how young people with special educational needs and disabilities are supported as they move into adult services. Young people aged 16 to 25 and their parents and carers can respond online until Friday 28 August.
Dates For Your Diary
Sunday 21 June, 1.30-5pm
Midsummer nature festival on Father's Day
The free Wild South London Midsummer Nature Festival returns to Beckenham Place Mansion on Sunday 21 June, with nature activities around the Mansion. It falls on Father's Day, so it works well as a no-cost family plan for the afternoon.
Saturday 27 June, 11am-3pm
St Mary's Summer Fun Day with Bluey and Bingo
St Mary's Summer Fun Day runs at St Mary's Catholic Primary School on Westgate Road on Saturday 27 June, 11am to 3pm. Expect inflatables, soccer darts, a barbecue, pizza and sweet treats, a St Mary's Got Talent show, home-made goods, a treasure hunt and appearances from Bluey and Bingo.
Saturday 27 June, 9.30am-1pm
Open day at Kindred Cator Park pre-school
Kindred's Cator Park Montessori Pre-School holds an open day at Cator Park Pavilion, Aldersmead Road, on Saturday 27 June, 9.30am to 1pm. Families can look around, meet the team and ask about funded places; you can register for a visit on Eventbrite.
Tuesday 30 June, doors 6.30pm
Pints and Paints with Darren Hayman at Three Hounds
A relaxed two-hour painting session inspired by musician and artist Darren Hayman's birds painted on beer mats, at Three Hounds on Beckenham Road. Tickets are £22 including a drink on arrival; beginners welcome, over-18s only.
What's On
Friday 12 June
Penge Festival bowls at West Beckenham Bowls Club, 5.30-9pm. West Beckenham Bowls Club hosts a social bowls evening as part of the Penge Festival, a chance to try the green on a summer evening.
Saturday 13 June
The Mansion Market: Summer Edition, 10.30am-5pm. The Mansion Market takes over Beckenham Place Mansion this Saturday, with local traders selling handmade goods, crafts, art and gifts across the ground floor, plus food traders, drinks and DJs outside. Entry is free.
Pride Picnic in the Park at Cator Park, Noon-5pm. The Pride Picnic in the Park brings the Penge Festival to Cator Park on Aldersmead Road for an afternoon picnic, the festival's community follow-on from last Sunday's Beckenham and Penge Pride.
Sunday 14 June
Food and Farmers Market at Beckenham Place Park, 10am-3pm. The weekly Food and Farmers Market runs by Beckenham Hill Road, with fresh produce and street food a short walk from the playground.
Monday 15 June
Teddy Bears Picnic at St John's Church, Penge, 10.30am-1pm. A free Teddy Bears Picnic with activities for pre-school children runs at St John's Church, 2 St John's Road, Penge, as part of the Penge Festival. Bring a bear and a blanket.
Thursday 18 June
Crib Notes Choir at Beckenham Place Mansion, 1-2pm. The daytime parents' choir meets again at the Mansion next Thursday. Tickets are £7 on the Crib Notes Choir event page; babies welcome.
Roadworks and Transport
Copers Cope Road: The gas works road closure continues until late July, so allow extra time around New Beckenham and Beckenham Junction.
New gas works from Monday 15 June: Three long-running sets of gas works start on Monday: multi-way signals on Avenue Road until Monday 29 June, multi-way signals on Hayes Lane until the end of July, and a road closure on Letchworth Drive in Park Langley until late July. Expect slower school-run journeys on these routes from next week.
Worsley Bridge Road: The multi-way signals finish on Monday 15 June.
Upper Elmers End Road: Thames Water has two-way signals running until Monday 22 June.
South Eden Park Road: A Thames Water lane closure runs from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 June.
Planning Watch
Restaurant plans at the Foxgrove Club, Beckenham Place Park
An application for the Foxgrove Club site at Beckenham Place Park (BR3 5DE) proposes a single-storey outdoor structure at the side, replacement double-glazed windows throughout, a kitchen extractor and a front patio for use as a restaurant. Lewisham is handling the application, with Bromley consulted as the neighbouring authority under reference 26/02296/ADJ, received on Thursday 4 June.