A Sidcup youngster is aiming to become a role model for young people with disabilities after enjoying an inspirational journey into para football in recent months his diagnosis may have threatened to curtail his love of football and his dreams of progressing in the game with the help of his coaches and team-mates at GB10 Sports a new community sports hub based in South London his determination has now seen him enjoy a host of opportunities with England and Brighton & Hove Albion Briggs attended a talent ID day in November at St George’s Park the Football Association’s national football centre and home to all England men’s as part of the FA’s Para Football Regional Emerging Talent programme he was invited on to the programme with the opportunity leading to a trial with Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation’s para team An impressive debut for the Seagulls’ U12s saw him net two goals against Fulham at the west London club’s Motspur Park training ground before being moved up to the U16s age group Thomas can’t regulate his body temperature it could be life threatening,” explained Jess Banks “He’s coping quite well and understands himself which is something we’ve always drummed into him – ‘as long as you understand yourself Discussing his disorder and how it affects him on the pitch the youngster said: “When I was younger it used to slow me down because we weren’t used to it but I’ve got better and used it as a power to just keep on going forward “I want to achieve playing for the England para first-team squad and be a role model for other kids to look up to me I want to tell them that nothing can stop you Believe in yourself and make sure everyone else around you supports you and encourages you That’s what happened to me and that’s what I hope will happen for others.” Briggs’ journey into football began within the academy teams ran by GB10 Sports five years ago with coaching staff taking special care to nurture his development and they continue to support him on his development pathway “The managers and staff have really helped me,” said Briggs “They’ve been important for me because they’ve always been checking up on me and seeing if I’m alright or whether I’m too hot or too cold on the pitch and looking after me when needed “They always encourage me and help me out when I’ve needed it and so do my team-mates.” “They’re really interested in following his journey,” added Banks “There is a lot of communication behind the scenes about how he’s getting on which is nice for Thomas because it shows they care and they’re interested in how he’s getting on.” GB10 Sports purchased a new community sports facility in New Eltham with the redevelopment set to provide a home for a range of sporting activities including football and padel tennis GB10 Sports are determined to continue to offer support and provision for disability sports “Football and sports should be available for everybody,” said GB10 Sports chairman Paul Whitehead “For Thomas to continue doing what he loves doing he needs a different kind of support and at GB10 we’re more than happy to be able to be allowed to work with him and work with him and it’s a privilege for us to do that.” Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Sidcup Storyteller is the product of an all-too-rare investment in civic life £1.2m from the Mayor’s Outer London Fund and £582,000 from Bexley Council have been earmarked to attract business to Sidcup town centre One of the key moves has been the decision to relocate the library from a single-use single-storey building just off the high street to a prominent location on the high street itself giving it a more public presence and attracting a wider demographic including students of the two performing arts colleges Sidcup hosts DRDH won the commission in part on account of its proposal to broaden the brief to include nine apartments as a means of offsetting some of the costs Cost is always a factor in public sector buildings but perhaps never more so than in the current climate of austerity DRDH’s Daniel Rosbottom reels off a litany of statistics which detail the extent of the London Borough of Bexley’s deprivation and is justly proud of the role the library has had to play in the regeneration of Bexley’s once deprived high street DRDH was fortunate to encounter the first generation of city planners to come out of Public Practice the organisation founded in 2017 to recruit talented placemaking professionals into the public sector finding a ready audience for its ambition to deliver high-quality architecture perhaps best characterised as ‘affordable civic’ The new building strikes a confident focal point amid the clutter of the typical suburban high street the project’s evolution has been informed by the need to balance the books is the only part of the building that the public can inhabit unquestioned and free of charge and the architects have taken care to reinforce the public nature of the space by positioning the ‘front desk’ away from the entrance and halfway down the plan The remaining floorspace is taken up by the apartments and a cinema franchise provides its contribution to life in Sidcup for a price The question is whether the architecture is robust enough for the building to deliver on its civic ambitions despite the commercial elements of the brief it succeeds in signalling a new or renewed investment in this suburban high street; a haphazard collection of buildings in awkward relation to each other that suggests a history of unkempt negotiations between civic and commercial demands Situated on the corner where the A222 crosses the High Street and becomes Station Road a narrow rectangular site previously occupied by the two-storey Blockbuster video and carpark the red brick library and cinema seems to shyly – or slyly – play its part in this array which from the front or left of the building shrinks into the typical rectangle of a retail shopfront Although the building is rarely in direct sunlight viewed obliquely it’s a slim glinting column The project was partly funded by nine apartments which are stacked at the rear of the site and partially screened by a 150-year-old oak tree Rosbottom explains how the practice took pains to align the engraved panel reading ‘Library & Cinema’ with the high-street windowsills alongside it The building’s topmost height completes the geometry of a flattened classical façade overhanging a newly opened lounge Rosbottom points out that the entranceway drum relates to the height of the buildings on the three other corners of the junction But despite its reticence to outdo the High Street the building springs unmissably into view as you ascend Station Road It is now the first view afforded to Sidcup’s visitors The shape of the site – a narrow rectangle set against the rising road – is a recurring motif reproduced in miniature on the soldier course brickwork of the exterior and in the bright and intricate hardwood tiling in the interior entrance hall wide windows and mauve tiles combines to create an architecture that is generous easy-to-maintain and designed to last – and only marginally compromised by the synthetic carpet tiles that the cinema chain has installed in the community room upstairs and third-floor plans; long section; cross section the staircase winds across and around the building’s large square windows Its slim rail has a slightly baroque curvature and there is an unbroken sightline from children’s section in the library’s furthest recess to the glass entrance doors and high street beyond But here the sequence of rooms gradates privacy rather than privilege A would-be meeting room (currently used as storage) is behind reeded glass and timber at the very rear The children’s library is next in the sequence at this point beneath the level of the street so that the shins or ankles of passers-by are at head height The librarian’s desk and computer room pinch the passageway into a narrow corridor and a table available for community groups to reserve The road beyond the expansive windows has now come level with the surfaces of the desks positioning readers just below street level public toilets (the only ones on Sidcup High Street) and the café (run by the cinema franchise) take up the rest of the ground floor the sounds of the café don’t travel the few metres to the library’s entranceway and study desks which has previously worked on concert halls and auditoria is focused “as much on how a building sounds as how it looks.” London was fringed with art-deco cinemas – and libraries – compacting American ‘dream palaces’ for more provincial tastes the library’s sequence of courtly rooms makes clear that the public library is no silent study closet: it is a place of community happening and social mobility The double-height café and library enjoy a direct relationship with Sidcup High Street The building – just about – manages to house the conflicting spatial demands of library and cinema but there are moments when the strain is more evident than others The council has sold the wraparound gallery accessed from the second floor and originally intended to be a part of the library to the cinema franchise along with the entirety of the second and third floors The plan is that it will operate as an extension of the café – you can order a hotdog or toastie from the desk – and visitors can use desk space there – for a price The cinema’s general manager tells me that locals who turn up hoping to use the library are redirected here on the three days a week when the library is closed One can’t help but wonder what happens to would-be-readers without cash to spend on a desk Designed as a series of contrasting spaces the interior is inspired by one of Bexley’s most esteemed buildings: William Morris’s Red House which was designed with help from the architect Philip Webb Rosbottom explains that the entrance hall and stairway were designed with the entrance of a large house in mind: a welcoming civic house that is open to all Since the upper floors have been sold to the cinema franchise this upstairs-downstairs dynamic equates to downstairs for members of the local community DRDH has balanced community engagement with the sensory cloistering a library needs; a view to the street on one side; a quiet Rosbottom reflects that this is something DRDH has done for a while: design buildings with strong character that can bear some conflict between their inhabitants While the building’s fragile ecosystem seems to be under threat by the way in which spaces have been subsequently repurposed nuanced approach to its architecture is at least hopeful of a more civic use Weaponising the organisation of a palace or a stately home in favour of Sidcup’s reading public the building rejects being a shared space – a library/cinema/café – and instead attempts to distinguish its many uses from one another the building gives us two versions of a corner many heights in conversation with the street been negotiating commercial and public planning with acres of prefab housing estates built in the early 20th Century Rosbottom suggests that if new housing is going to be built here in the coming years it should feel like an aspirational place once again And maybe aspirational feelings usher in genuinely aspirational planning Two of the neighbouring shopfronts are still engraved with patronymics: ‘Police’ above a newly opened family grill restaurant and ‘Bank’ above a defunct branch of Barclays The ‘Library and Cinema’ engraving on the street elevations each make a stab at this kind of permanence Whether that permanence is going to end up another reminder of what high streets across the country have lost (‘this building was once a library and cinema’) or a testament to their longevity (‘this building was and can again be a library and cinema’) is out of DRDH’s hands made a building which lends itself to civic life © Built Environment and Architecture Media Ltd 2025 We use cookies and other tracking technologies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website analyse your use of our products and services assist with our promotional and marketing efforts These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies but some parts of the site may not work then These cookies allow the provision of enhance functionality and personalisation They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages then some or all of these functionalities may not function properly These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site All information these cookies collect is anonymous we will not know when you have visited our site These cookies are set through our site by our advertising partners They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites you will not experience our targeted advertising across different websites These cookies are necessary to display content from social networks such as Facebook In such a way that you can share our content with your favourite social networks The Sidcup and District Motorcycle Club annual Sidcup Sixty Trial will be on Sunday 19th January at Canada Heights Entry has previously opened on 1st December but to allow riders time to buy their 2025 ACU Trials Licence it will open at 07:00 on New Year’s Day 1st January.  All 150 entries in the 2024 Sixty were snapped up in three days so be wide awake on the first day of the year to beat the rush It’s the first round of the 2025 South Eastern Trials Championship for all ACU adult and youth solo classes  There will be three routes in sections with more challenging bits for the Elite Expert and Elite Youth Expert classes.  Sam Connor has won the huge Youngs Cup ten times whose first win was 1990 and who is still riding in the Expert Elite class.  and maybe a bit of Kentish mud – Canada Heights has them all in the sections The picture shows Daniel Da Breo taking a dab on a tyre section and Observer Nicola Clarke is ready with her clipboard Beta-mounted Sam Connor tamed a tricky 2025 Sidcup Sixty Trial to take a well-deserved victory on his 300cc machine He lost just eight marks in the 20-section two-lap event and finished 21 marks ahead of second-placed Daniel Dabreo (250 GASGAS) This was the 87th running of the Sidcup Sixty an event that started way back in 1931 and apart from WW2 the hard-working members of the Sidcup MCC have built a number of new sections plus extensively modified the others with the importation of large quantities of rocks to give the local riders some experience of different riding conditions for when they venture further afield Connor’s win was his 11th and moved him into the joint lead of the winner’s table with Ashley Newbery The Expert Elite route tested the brave riders who attempted it to the maximum which made Connor’s eight-mark loss very impressive which claimed the most points from everyone he had a three with some necessary footing and then had a couple of single dabs to finish the opening lap on five with Connor again being clean till he got to section eight He lost another three but they were the only marks he lost that lap making a total of eight for all 40 sections Dabreo’s first lap began well with a few single dabs in the early sections but when he reached the now infamous section eight he was among many other riders who recorded a five With another couple of fives on sections 12 and 18 and a few dabs along the way Dabreo concluded the opening lap with a total of 21 His second lap was much improved and he even logged the first single dab on section eight He’d finish the lap with an impressive seven marks lost bringing his event total to 29 and securing him second place behind Connor Only seven points separated the following four riders as Max Dance (125 JSM GASGAS) had two consistent laps of 28 and 24 for third place with a loss of 52 Joe Snelling (300 Sherco) and Jack Challice (300 TRRS) filled the next three places with losses of 54 George Clark (125 Beta) and Gus Oblein (300 GASGAS) tied on points at the top of the Expert class riding a slightly easier route than the Expert Elite riders Clark finished his opening lap with just ones and twos for a total loss of 11 while Oblein recorded a couple of threes for 12 They almost matched each other on the second lap until Clark had a three on section 17 but Clark had 29 cleans to Oblein’s 28 and was declared the class winner with Julian Harvey (250 Sherco) just two points behind him Only three points separated Martin Carter (250 TRRS) and Fraser Arden (250 Beta) at the top of the Intermediate class Rob Hoyles (300 Beta) won the Over 40s on the Intermediate blue route by just one point from Kevin Morphett (250 Montesa) with Paul Doney (250 GASGAS) a mark behind him.  Will Barden (200 Honda) and George Hann (250 Beta) tied at the top of the Novice class with the loss of 13 with Barden getting the premier award by virtue of his 35 cleans to Hann’s 31 It was the same in the Over 50s as Tim Carter (250 Vertigo) and Ian Pape (200 Beta) tied for the win on six marks lost Carter was awarded the class premier by the furthest clean rule Thomas Packham (125 GASGAS) was the winner of the three brave riders who took on the Expert Elite route from Kai Fisher (125 TRRS) and Richie Keet (125 Sherco) Tommy Keet (125 Beta) was the youth winner on the Expert route while Luke Batten (125 TRRS) won the Youth Intermediate class and Coben Brand (125 Beta) was first in the Youth Novice division.        5 Alicia Robinson (250 Beta) 42 (19 cleans 6 Daniel Beaven (301 Montesa) 42 (19 cleans 7 Michael Haydon (300 Montesa) 52 (17 cleans) 8 Aaron Richardson (250 Beta) 52 (16 cleans) 5 Lee Brocklehurst (300 GASGAS) 28 (27 cleans 1 Tim Carter (250 Vertigo) 6 (Furthest clean) © 2024 WW Magazines All rights reserved. Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions Sidcup residents have warned that a suspect in the area ‘likes cutting hair off’ News | Crime Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Police are hunting a suspect after a woman’s hair was cut off in south east London The Met Police were called at around 8.40pm on Mallard Walk in Sidcup to the assault on January 7 Extra patrols are being carried out in the area following social media reports alleging other similar assaults take place in the area One post which was shared widely on Facebook warned Sidcup residents that a suspect is “randomly attacking women from behind” in Foots Cray and he “likes cutting hair off” A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "We are aware of social media posts regarding assaults on women in the Sidcup area “We can confirm we responded to a single incident that occurred on Tuesday 7 January at 20:41hrs in Mallard Walk in which a woman reported having her hair cut by a man Relatives of Jack the Ripper’s victims demand new inquest after DNA breakthrough Search for missing sisters enters second week airlifted to hospital and horse put down after van hit-and-run Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after man found dead "Please be assured that we are working hard to try and locate a suspect and local officers have been tasked with high visibility patrols in these areas Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications from nationalities most likely to overstay New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications Man charged after London student nurse stabbed to death in Texas 'in row over cat' Man charged after London student nurse stabbed to death in Texas Southeastern is reminding customers to check their train times as its enhanced timetable starts from Sunday 15th December There will be some changes to current timings to accommodate the additional services which have been added to meet growing passenger demand including a post-pandemic record of 431,000 journeys through their London terminals on Thursday 5th December In total there will be an extra 44 services each week day More of the convenient Cannon Street ‘rounder’ services are being provided each week day on the Woolwich and Sidcup lines Two more of the evening Charing Cross to Maidstone East services will run on to Ashford International The number of trains between Victoria and Orpington via Herne Hill in the off-peak is also being increased to four trains per hour to deliver an all-day turn up and go 'Metro' service on weekdays The extra services at Victoria station follow on from the investment to expand and improve the ticket barriers as part of a major congestion relief scheme delivered in partnership with Network Rail To help passengers move through the station better at busy times the number of gatelines has increased from 88 to 121 including five more of the accessible wider gates plus new overhead display indicators that show if the gates are entry or exit New customer information screens have also been added Full details of all the December changes are available in online journey planners and the timetables can be viewed on the Southeastern website Watch a short video about the new timetable here: Southeastern’s Operations and Safety Director “We are pleased to be seeing a near 10% yearly growth now and we are steadily increasing our service to keep pace with demand taking into account customer and stakeholder feedback to see how we can meet the needs of the communities we serve It’s always a balancing act to deliver a timetable to meet the broadest possible number of customers “From 15th December we’ll be adding an extra 220 services a day which will mean more frequent services on some of our inner-London routes This will offer an enhanced “Metro” style turn up and go frequency that customers have asked for so we are asking our customers to check before they travel in journey planners or in the timetables published on our website.” “We are pleased to be able to support the Southeastern timetable change which in turn supports the economy of south east London and Kent Our role in our alliance with Southeastern is in making sure that trains run as punctually and reliably as possible something that’s particularly important for the more frequent service on Metro routes that Southeastern customers need and want.” david.meechan@southeasternrailway.co.uk Southeastern recently announced that 13 Class 377s are transferring from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and the first two trains will enter passenger service on 15 December. More information is available here You can find more details about the improvements at Victoria station on the Network Rail website. Full details of the changes from 15th December are available on the Southeastern website The 12 additional Cannon Street rounder services will run via Greenwich and Sidcup in both directions across the morning and evening peak Extra services (stopping at all stations except Lewisham) There are also additional part rounder services: More services are running between Slade Green and Cannon Street via Woolwich at peak times Maze Hill and Westcombe Park to six trains an hour Erith and Belvedere will also have six trains an hour at peak times Abbey Wood and Slade Green there will be eight trains an hour at peak times To improve the waiting time for travel between Abbey Wood and Dartford To provide an earlier arrival into London on weekdays the 05.23 Dartford to Charing Cross via Bexleyheath will depart 11 minutes earlier at 05.12 To offer an earlier direct service from the Bexleyheath line stations to Abbey Wood for connections with the Elizabeth Line there will be an additional 06.27 New Cross to Cannon Street service via Bexleyheath and Greenwich calling at all stations on weekdays There will be a 05.05 service from Dartford to Charing Cross calling at all stations via Sidcup and Lewisham to fill a 32-minute gap during weekdays London Victoria to Orpington via Herne Hill Extra trains will run Monday to Friday on this route during off-peak and evenings to provide an all-day service with four per trains an hour The 15-minute interval delivers a turn up and go 'Metro' frequency High Speed – Dover Priory to London St Pancras To provide an earlier arrival in London the 05.48 Dover Priory to St Pancras on weekdays will start earlier at 05.45 To fill an hour gap between Chartham and Chilham the 08.44 Ramsgate to Charing Cross service will run at 08.42 with additional stops at Chartham (09.11) and Chilham (09.14) London Charing Cross to Ashford International via Maidstone East To offer more evening services the 21.29 and 22.29 London Charing Cross to Maidstone East trains will run to Ashford International on weekdays To give school pupils more time to get on and off trains the 07.33 and 08.05 Strood to Tonbridge services are starting a minute earlier and they’ll have additional dwell time at New Hythe and Aylesford Southeastern is one of the UK’s most reliable operators with more than 1,700 services a day to 181 stations across Kent It operates the UK's first domestic highspeed service and carried 128 million customers last year a subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s public sector owning group Northern Trains Limited and TransPennine Trains Limited Southeastern is the trading name of SE Trains Limited Registered in England under company number 03266762