The Beauchamp Place Association (the BPA) is a non-profit making Association formed to represent and promote the interests of members’ businesses in Beauchamp Place.

The BPA was founded in the late 1970s as a spin off from the Kensington & Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. Founder members of the BPA included recruitment guru Jane Crosthwaite and lawyer Rod MacClancy. In those early days, two main issues galvanised the fledgling Association: traffic and rubbish.

Long distance coaches regularly used Beauchamp Place to get to Victoria Coach Station. Tourist buses included the street in their schedules. Horns blared all day and visitors found it impossible to reverse their cars into parking meter bays, as the street was continually jammed with through coach and bus traffic. Pedestrians took their lives into their hands when crossing the street. After a vigorous lobbying campaign by the BPA, a coach and bus ban was finally announced.

Encouraged by the coach and bus ban, the BPA then set about tackling the thorny and malodorous subject of rubbish. The ever-increasing number of restaurants had led to overflowing rubbish bins in the mornings. Sometimes the bins were not emptied until lunchtime. Once again the BPA team sprung into action. The local authority finally relented and introduced both late-night and early-morning rubbish collections.

After these early successes the BPA did further sterling work in the beautification of the street. Flower baskets were installed on the lamp posts, and floral displays are still planted every Summer from May to September. In Winter, the street is famous for the illuminated Christmas trees on the balconies. Celebrities such as Elaine Paige were involved in switching on the lights. In one year, the much loved street postman, John Hermonstine, was asked to switch on the lights as he was shortly leaving the street due to retirement. John’s cricketing hero, Denis Compton, presented John with a carriage clock on behalf of the BPA to mark his retirement and long service to the street.

Today, the BPA remains committed to its founding aims and objectives, although the means at its disposal have changed considerably with the times. The original BPA communal notice board of the 1970s in the old Grove Pub has been superseded by modern technology. Email is now the tool of choice in communication between members, rather than in the traditional way, over a drink in the pub! Members’ concerns change with the times too. Today they are more likely to include rent review and lease renewal matters. The BPA is in a unique position in being able to gather and disseminate data on rental levels, for the benefit of members.

Membership fees are;

GROUND FLOOR SHOPS: £75 per year + £40 one-off joining fee = £115

OTHER FLOORS: £50 per year + £40 one-off joining fee = £90

For a Membership Application Form, please click on the JOIN button or on the link below. Please return the completed form to Michael McKenna at the address below accompanied by a cheque payable to The Beauchamp Place Association.

Benefits of membership:

• Direct links to members websites from the Beauchamp Place street plan as well as a directory listing including your logo and full contact details.
  
  
• Full Page advert options for businesses without websites.
  
  
• Access to 'Member Only' section of the website
  
  
• Being part of an exclusive community.
  
  
• Cost benefits in promotion and marketing the street as a whole.
  
  
• Register your own member-to-member discount in member’s area.
  such as the traditional 10% street discount and preferentially priced legal fees through former BPA Chairman, Rod MacClancy.
  

For Further Information Please Contact:

Michael McKenna
McKenna & Co.
28 Beauchamp Place
SW3 1NJ

Tel: 020 7584 1966
Fax: 020 7225 2893
e-mail: info@beauchamp-place.com

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