The former builders’ merchant Homepride, which had closed, re-opened as The Beauty Lounge in April 2016.

Bexley Times reported on 6 June 2016: “A clock dating back to the 1940s has been put back into working order as a new business moved in. The Beauty Lounge moved into the former home of Homepride Builders on Blackfen Road at the turning for Sycamore Avenue earlier this year.

As locals showed concern for the building’s heritage, the new owners continued their redevelopment of the site by not only preserving the clock, but by getting it back in working order. Owner Claire Cousins said: “The clock has been there for so long and it has become quite a feature for everyone in the town. Once we took over there were people commenting on social media asking what would happen to the clock, so we told them that were renovating it with the rest of the building. It has the same clock face as before but changed the workings so that it can tell the time.”

The business owner, who has lived in Sidcup for nearly 30 years, originally opened the beauty parlour along the same road in 2013, but moved in to the new shop in April.