1. Introduction

Your chance to help shape the future of Bromley

We would like you to help us develop the long-term planning strategy for the London Borough of Bromley. This strategy needs to show roughly where any new development should go and, how much development there should be, over the next 20 years. We are starting with what is known as the “Core Strategy” - the top-level document where we set the general direction for the future of the borough - but once this is prepared we will produce other documents with policies to guide the detail of any development.

So, is this the “Core Strategy”?

No, this is just the first step towards a Core Strategy. This document presents a wide range of information about the Borough and its places and suggests some of the key issues for the future. We are asking everyone with an interest in Bromley to tell us what they think about the issues we have identified – are they the right issues? Are there any more issues that our planning strategy needs to consider?

Once we have agreed on the main issues, it’s time to look at the ways of tackling them – again, we’ll be asking for everyone to get involved by telling us what they think and whether anything has been missed. After this we’ll be able to produce a draft Core Strategy which will contain policies that can be used to guide development – this is the document that will be submitted to the Government for checking. Overall, this process will take about two years.

Why does it matter to me?

The production of Bromley’s Core Strategy is an important project being led by the Council, but your help is needed. Residents, businesses and developers are all being asked to put forward their views and ideas to help guide the location and nature of change around the borough. The final strategy has to include policies about how many, and where, new homes may be built, where business is to be encouraged and how special areas and features are to be protected. It will outline how Bromley will tackle the issues of climate change, waste management and protection of the environment.

The development of the Core Strategy gives you an opportunity to tell us what you think the key issues are for the development of the borough’s places, and influence the way those issues are managed. We need you to help shape the future of Bromley.

What am I supposed to do?

You will see that the document has several sections:

A brief Portrait of the Borough in 2011 with some basic facts and figures is given in Section 2

Section 3 presents the overall Vision for the Borough in 20 years time together with the Objectives on which a future plan might be based.

In Section 4 we’ve presented information about the different places in the borough in a series of Area Pen Portraits. Each pen portrait concludes with some issues or questions we think may be important for those areas. We need your comments on those issues – are they the right ones? Are there any that we have missed?

Section 5 refers to Strategic Spatial Themes that affect the Borough as a whole. Again, we have concluded each part with issues relating to each of the seven themes. Are these the right issues and are there any that we have missed?

How do I put forward my comments?

There are several ways of commenting on the issues or questions in the Area Pen Portraits (Section 4) or the Strategic Themes (Section 5). The quickest way is to try our new consultation portal through the Council’s website but you can also email or write in. Our details are at the bottom of this page.

This isn’t your only chance to help influence the Core Strategy, but it’s a good time to join in as we’re just starting the process.

How do I make sure that I am told about the next stages?

By signing in to the online portal you will be automatically given the chance to keep in touch with what we’re doing on the Core Strategy. When we publish something, you’ll be sent an email. If you have internet access, this is the quickest and easiest way to keep involved in this process.

Don’t worry if you can’t or don’t want to use the internet, you can ask to be added to our mailing list and we will make sure that details about future public consultations are made available in the libraries. We want to make sure that as many people as possible can have their say.

Contact details

Online consultation portal: XXXXXXXXXXX

Email:

Postal address:

Please send your comments by XXXX

If you need the document in a particular language or format, please let us know.

Where now?

You can read more about the Core Strategy and how it will be used from page XXX, otherwise go straight to The Places of Bromley on page XXX or The Strategic Themes…

2. Portrait of the Borough in 2011

Bromley in London and the South East

With a population of just over 306,000 in 2011 and an area of 150 sq kilometres, Bromley has the fourth highest population amongst the London boroughs and is the largest in area1.

The Borough occupies a strategic position in the South East of the Capital and South East England with rail connections to Central London and easy access to the M25 and onwards to the National Road Network and major South East airports.

Figure 1

Bromley is a distinctive part of London’s suburbs that is closely connected to London’s economy, and itself has one of the largest borough economies south of the Thames. Open countryside, protected by the Green Belt that encircles London, makes up over half the Borough. The area of Green Belt in the Borough has many characteristics in common with the rural parts of Kent and Surrey.

Bromley’s towns, suburbs and countryside

Bromley’s distinctive character arises from its protected open space: countryside, parks, gardens, playing fields and woodlands spread throughout the Borough.

Tree lined roads and avenues and houses with gardens are distinctive features of many of the Borough’s residential areas. There are 131,000 households1 in a variety of house types spreading from the older, more densely developed areas around Penge to the more spacious detached houses near to Farnborough and Keston.

Figure 2

Over half the local working population travel out of the Borough to work, predominantly to central London. The Borough has a strong local economy, however, and there are 129,000 workplaces2 based in the Borough; about a fifth of these (26,000) in Bromley Town centre – the most significant location for shopping and business services. The 10 other town centres shown in figure 2 are also vital to the Borough’s local economy and as focal points for cultural and civic activity.

The Borough’s 73 smaller centres and shopping parades give a distinctive identity to many localities as well as providing an important source of local employment and access to services. These are described in more detail in the Area Pen Portraits that follow in Section 4.

The main sources of employment outside of the town centres are in business areas such as those at St Mary Cray and Lower Sydenham. Biggin Hill Airport is important transport infrastructure with potentially a wide impact and implications for the local economy.

1. © GLA 2010 Round Demographic Projections 2. Figure for 2011, from GLA Working Paper 39: Borough employment projections to 2031

Places in Bromley

The scale of the borough, the largest in London, is such that it includes a wide range of places and communities; urban, suburban and rural. To effectively plan for such a diverse borough it is important understand the particular characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of the different places within the borough. To this end 21 pen portraits have been drafted, briefly outlining the distinctive character of different parts of the borough.

Figure 3

The borough is not comprised of rigidly delineated areas and hence the pen portrait areas deliberately overlap, acknowledging the gradual transition from one place to another. In this respect they differ from wards, which are defined for electoral purposes, and whose sharp boundaries may cut through places and communities. The loose boundaries of the pen portrait areas also improve understanding of issues and enable more effective plan making responses along the boundaries with neighbouring boroughs, for example at Crystal Palace. The pen portraits set the scene for a discussion of issues in particular places and will ultimately assist in producing policies and options to deliver the vision for the Borough. Whilst part of achieving that vision may involve some neighbourhood plans, the places in this document are not put forward as the basis for 21 individual neighbourhood plans, rather it is intended that this consultation will help to deliver localism, through a full appreciation of the rich variety of places within the Borough.

Bromley in 2025

“Bromley is the cleanest and greenest borough in London with distinctive neighbourhoods and high quality open spaces. Over half of the Borough is

Green Belt. There are 45 conservation areas and a wide range of historic and listed buildings. People enjoy a good quality of life in all Bromley’s places, from the low density suburbs to the vibrant town centres. Businesses thrive, growing and investing locally, responding to the challenges of a changing economy.”

Open and natural space

The importance of all natural spaces, whether private gardens, rivers and lakes or Green Belt, is universally recognised and their quality and protection is a high priority. A wide range of different open spaces and habitats, with their distinctive animal and plant life, are well managed and accessible. As well as helping conserve and enhance biodiversity, Bromley’s natural environment helps improve the wellbeing of its communities, providing space for leisure and sport and supporting healthy lifestyles. Opportunities are taken to increase natural habitats, especially in areas with a deficiency, linking them together and improving their quality and accessibility.

Objectives: Protect open spaces, natural environments and trees. Encourage the protection and enhancement of biodiversity. Improve the provision of open space in areas of deficiency and in any new development.

Health and wellbeing

The quality of life in Bromley has improved in all its neighbourhoods with residents enjoying better health and wellbeing. There is less crime and anti-social behaviour; areas with a concentration of social and/or environmental difficulties are being improved. Residents are helped to improve their own places and local environments for the benefit of all the community.

Objectives: To produce healthier environments and a health infrastructure to support people in living longer, healthier lives. Encourage all communities to improve their own environments. Coordinate improvements to areas, in particular those with a concentration of deprivation.

Housing

A range of decent homes of different types and sizes are available and housing supply is tailored to local needs. Any new housing complements and respects the character of neighbourhoods and improves the choice of accommodation available.

Objectives: Ensure there is an appropriate supply of local housing. Ensure new housing is appropriate to local needs. Ensure new housing development complements and respects local character in terms of design, density and car parking.

Community facilities

Local shopping parades, schools, healthcare, leisure and cultural facilities, including libraries, support our wide range of communities. New facilities are encouraged in accessible locations and may be combined with other uses to form flexible and efficient community hubs.

Objectives: Support retention of locally valued community facilities. Ensure new community facilities are appropriately located and accessible.

Business and employment

Bromley is a prosperous, thriving and skilled borough where businesses choose to locate. New businesses start up and grow using local skills, supply chains and investment and Business Areas offer high quality flexible accommodation. There is an improved range of employment opportunities for residents and skills levels have been raised.

Objectives: Encourage investment and development in the local economy. Business Areas adapt successfully to the changing needs of modern industry and commerce. Ensure there are an appropriate range of premises across the borough. Encourage an adequate supply of commercial land in the borough. Encourage and support the provision of training across the borough.

Town centres

Town centres provide a range of goods and services and are safe, clean and welcoming for all. Bromley Town Centre is a competitive Metropolitan Town Centre, complementing others in the region and attracting a wide range of visitors to its shopping, cinema, theatre and restaurant areas. The vision for Orpington recognises the town centre’s role as a strong and vibrant local centre, offering a good range of shopping, leisure and public amenities. The improvement of its image and appearance and adding to its retail offer are vital to achieving this aim.

Objectives: Ensure continued vitality of Bromley Town Centre, in particular, through implementation of the Area Action Plan. Promote and facilitate the continued improvement of Orpington Town Centre. Maintain and improve other local centres across the borough. Encourage a safe and prosperous evening economy.

Climate change and environmental issues

The impacts of our changing climate on places and people are addressed through careful consideration of flood risk, water conservation, building design and use of “green infrastructure” – open spaces and living roofs or walls. Opportunities for appropriate low carbon, decentralised energy networks and renewable energy are considered in any new developments. Less waste is produced and more is managed and disposed of locally through new cleaner technologies.

Objective: Design and construct any new buildings to help reduce impacts of a changing climate. Ensure carbon reduction is a priority of any new development. Increase self-sufficiency in dealing with waste. Support the development of local energy networks and low-carbon and renewable energy facilities.

Design and the public realm

New development of all kinds is well designed, safe, energy efficient and complements its surroundings, respecting the existing scale and layout. Private or public open space, and appropriate car parking are key considerations. Public art and street furniture make places more attractive and comfortable for users. Our roads and streets are clean but uncluttered, with street trees and verges improving their appearance.

Objective: Ensure development attains the highest possible design standards. Ensure development includes appropriate private or public open space.

Built heritage

Our man-made heritage assets – areas of distinctive character, listed buildings, conservation areas and monuments - are protected and enhanced. There are fewer historic features on the “at risk” register and visitors are encouraged to enjoy the borough’s rich heritage.

Objective: Continue to identify and protect locally and nationally significant heritage assets. Ensure development complements and improves the setting of heritage assets. Encourage greater accessibility of heritage assets. Encourage a proactive approach to the improvement of heritage assets.

Transport

Moving around the borough is easier due to reduced road congestion and improved public transport networks. Commuting traffic has reduced as more people share car journeys and choose alternative ways of working and travelling. Reduced road traffic resulting in less pollution and greenhouse gases from transportation. Any new development should where appropriate include electric vehicle charging points and there are more car clubs, increasing choices for local people. Walking and cycling to work, school and for leisure, has increased and the road environment is safer for vulnerable users. Public transport is more accessible to those with mobility problems and is safer and more reliable.

Objectives: Reduce road congestion at peak times through better management of the network and encouraging alternative means of travel. Encourage the use of public transport, walking and cycling including new modes of transport. Ensure new developments include electric charging points, cycling facilities and car clubs where appropriate. Encourage patterns of development that reduce the need to travel. Ensure streets are safe, accessible and uncluttered, improve road safety and reduce air and noise pollution from traffic.

Area Portraits

BECKENHAM COPERS COPE & KANGLEY BRIDGE

Character

The introduction of the railway in mid- Victorian times saw Beckenham develop from a small village into a town on the edge of suburbia. The majority of dwellings in the area are Victorian with some 1940s and 50s flats and houses. Houses tend to have fair sized gardens; however, where there are smaller dwellings and flatted developments there is a lack of off-street parking. During the later part of the 20th century a significant number of Victorian villas were converted or replaced by modern blocks of flats or housing. Ten conservation areas have been established to help preserve and enhance the appearance and historic character of the area.

There are a variety of historic listed buildings such as St. Georges Parish Church, 28 Beckenham Road, the cinema and the war memorial. Pubs such as The George Inn and The Coach & Horses also have historic significance.

The High Street is the main retail centre currently thriving with minimal vacancies and a wide variety of independent shops and restaurants. Off Beckenham Road there is a fire station and ambulance control station. The Lower Sydenham Business Area is an industrial area in the north of the Beckenham area close to Kangley Bridge Road.

The majority of green space is in the north of the area where there are a series of sports fields, park and allotments. Much of the land is classified as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) and is part of the South East London Green Chain; there is limited access to green space in other parts of the area, particularly the south east. The River Beck, a tributary to the River Ravensbourne, cuts through the area posing a risk of flooding; however, much of the central and northern part of the watercourse flows through protected open space.

Over the past decade the area has benefited from the development of modern facilities such as the Beckenham Spa and Beckenham Beacon. Other public facilities include Beckenham Library and Beckenham Civic Halls, a multi- purpose community facility.

More recently housing development has been encroaching onto non- residential sites as pressure for housing has intensified.

Demography & Community

Single person households account for the largest proportion of households. A higher population density exists in the north of the area2; over recent years several blocks of flats have been constructed in the Kangley Bridge area. The population in this area is characterised by a higher than average percentage of over 65s and over 75s, and also a lower than average proportion of under 5s4. The average household income for the area is above average compared to that of the Borough average36.

Business and Employment

Kangley Bridge Industrial Estate is the only industrial site in this area and is well occupied.

The former Dylon factory lies within a business area close to the border with Lewisham. Planning permission was granted on appeal in 2009 to demolish the industrial building and provide new offices as well as residential units, office, retail, café & restaurant and crèche.

Beckenham town centre is defined as a District Centre in the Unitary Development Plan. The High Street is a significant retail centre with a vibrant service sector; out of 90 units, 35 operate as restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets. There are 8 banks a building society and 17 estate agents. Several supermarkets serve the area including Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. There is a lively evening economy supported by a cinema, restaurants, pubs and bars.

Bromley Road, Beckenham is a local parade within a ten minute walk from the bottom of the High Street. It has a varied mixture of shop units including The Oakhill Tavern & Jolly Woodman Public House as well as several takeaways; 12 of 21 businesses in the parade are retail units and vacancy is rare.

Social Infrastructure

The Beckenham spa is a purpose built leisure centre comprising two swimming pools, a gym, multi-purpose sports hall and studios. There is also a crèche, children’s play zone and a beauty clinic. Beckenham Public Hall is located in the town centre and includes two halls and a function room available for events such as concerts, theatrical productions and meetings. Beckenham Green is a small park in the town centre, used throughout the year as an open air space for markets and also for Christmas events. Several churches in the area provide a wide range of community facilities such as halls, mother and baby classes, pre-schools and lunch clubs for the elderly.

The Beckenham Beacon opened in 2009 as a healthcare facility including a minor injuries unit, two GP practices and a range of specialised services. There is also a Day Centre in Hayne Road run by the charity Mind, the centre provides support for people with mental health problems, carers, friends and family.

Two single sex secondary schools serve the area; Kelsey Park School for boys and Cator Park Girls. There is desire locally for a mixed secondary school and the Harris Federation of academies is interested in making provision in the area. Pressure in this area is also influenced by the flow of pupils to and from Croydon.

Connectivity

Four railway stations are located within the area; Beckenham Junction, New Beckenham, Ravensbourne and Clock House. The stations link the area to London terminals, Lewisham, Bromley South and Orpington. The Tramlink which terminates at Beckenham Junction provides frequent and convenient links to Croydon, New Addington and Wimbledon. For the majority of the area there are frequent and reliable bus services connecting the area with Crystal Palace, Bromley, Orpington and Croydon; in addition to a night bus linking Beckenham with Oxford Circus. The parks and residential areas to the north of Beckenham are less well connected by bus services16. Most of the residential roads and high streets connect to the surrounding A2015 & A213, leading to the rest of the Borough. There are several controlled parking zones (CPZ) in the area; the recent introduction of a CPZ on Copers Cope Road has helped to alleviate parking pressure for local residents. The London Cycle Network runs past Beckenham Junction from Bromley South through to Crystal Palace and on to London.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What are the implications of residential development encroaching onto business areas such as that at Worsley Bridge Road?

How can car parking pressure around stations and more densely populated areas be addressed?

How can the lack of public amenity space in the south east of the area be addressed?

What can be done to maintain and encourage the diversity of retail uses in the town centre?

BICKLEY

Character

A predominantly residential suburban area with mainly detached dwellings. Unlike other parts of the Borough the area does not have a clearly defined centre; however, there is a modest shopping parade in Widmore Road and at the Fairway in Southborough Lane. There is also a medium sized supermarket off Homesdale Road. Bickley Station and Chislehurst Station are widely used by commuters and both provide good links to London and Kent. The Bickley Manor Hotel is one of the few large hotels in the Borough with function rooms and conference facilities.

The Bickley Conservation Area comprises about 90 mainly residential properties; the buildings tend to be large dwellings on spacious plots, it also includes St. George’s Church built in 1864. There are good examples of buildings built during the Arts and Crafts movement, a traditional style that adds to the distinctive characteristics of the area and it is a style that has been mirrored in the design of modern housing throughout Bickley.

Whilst public open space in Bickley is limited, there are large gardens associated with well spaced properties. The more densely populated area to the south borders Whitehall Recreational Ground and Jubilee Country Park, on the edge of the Green Belt. There is also a private cricket club in the centre of the area.

Demography & Community

The majority of households in the area are either couples with dependant children or pensioners2. The area has low levels of deprivation, a significant proportion of workers are professionals in managerial or senior positions2; earnings here are close to the Borough average36. In comparison to other parts of the Borough, Bickley has a high number of residents over the age of 75; consequently, the area has a high mortality rate.

Business and Employment

There is a small commercial area which includes industrial units and offices in Waldo Road and the Homesdale Road Business Centre. Some smaller, older business sites have been developed for residential use. The Waldo Road refuse and recycling centre nearby operates as a transfer site sorting the Borough’s recycled waste. There are almost 3,800 jobs in the area 40.

Bickley has two local parades. The majority of units are retail (Class A1) and both are performing well with only one vacant unit.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

No. of No. of Local Parade A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 vacant Other units units Southborough 22 16 2 1 0 1 1 1 Lane, Bickley Southborough 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 Road, Bickley Totals 28 21 3 1 0 1 1 1

Social Infrastructure

There is a new medical centre built as part of the housing development off Golf Road; it includes a GP surgery which provides a range of clinics servicing the local community. The development also includes a dental surgery and a nursery.

Connectivity

Despite the limited number of public transport connections, the area is well served by 4 bus routes. The 208 and N47 night buses link the area with London, stopping near to Southborough Lane. Bickley railway station is located centrally, providing links to St Pancras International, Victoria, Orpington and Sevenoaks. A weak bridge on Southborough Road limits access by large vehicles to the station, therefore some transport may not run as smoothly. The A222 cuts through the centre of the area leading to the A21 Red Route. A London Cycle Network route passes through Bickley from Orpington, towards London and all the northern areas of the Borough.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities are there to enhance the available open space for the benefit of the local community?

What are the implications of isolation amongst elderly and how can this be addressed?

What opportunities are there to improve access to public transport?

What can be done to improve the vitality of local centres of Widmore Green and the Fairway having regard for their importance as providers of local facilities?

BIGGIN HILL

Character

Biggin Hill’s distinctive hilltop and valley character arises from its separation from the suburban spread of London, lying some 4 miles south of Keston Mark, in open countryside designated as Green Belt. The presence of the Airport also gives a specific identity to the area.

In the 19th Century Biggin Hill was merely a handful of cottages and a couple of pubs (the Black Horse Inn and the Old Jail) along a ridge of land with farmland in the valleys, similar to other settlements in the area. Very few of these older dwellings remain. In the late 19th and early 20th Century, plots of farmland were sold off and occupied by summerhouses and bungalows along the ridge. A few bungalows remain to tell the story of how the area grew.

A key factor leading to the establishment of the Airport was the suitability of its location for flying. The RAF base, famous for its involvement in the Battle of Britain, opened in 1917 as part of the London Air Defence Area. The Council has owned the freehold since 1974 when the RAF left the base. The Airport is operated by Biggin Hill Airport Ltd under an operational agreement which imposes restrictions on the hours of operation and the number of aircraft movements. The area’s only Conservation Area covers a number of buildings used by the RAF, including the listed airmen’s cottages in Vincent Square, dating back to the 1920s and the West Camp RAF buildings built in the 1930s, many of which are listed. The West Camp buildings are largely vacant.

It was during the period up to, during and for a decade after World War II that the extent of residential land, which had spread down into the valleys, was effectively set with the introduction of tight Green Belt controls in the mid 1950s. This prevented merging with the developing London suburbs to the north.

Biggin Hill, today, is a patchwork of housing types as individually owned plots were developed piecemeal. This creates a very wide range of housing styles and designs from the second half of the 20th Century. After the Green Belt areas, Biggin Hill has the highest proportion of detached houses and bungalows in the Borough. The Green Belt boundary is drawn tightly around the residential plots (coinciding with the boundary with Tandridge Council to the south) and as the pressure for housing intensified from the 1980s onwards, houses and flats built since then show increasing density. There are no residential or nursing care homes in Biggin Hill although there are two sheltered housing developments and others in Tatsfield and Downe offering “housing with support”.

The generally sloping nature of the Biggin Hill landscape and historic incremental development, without large scale planned development, has meant very limited social housing development, and whilst the town is bounded by Green Belt there is relatively little open space within the built up area. In particular, flat recreational space is limited to the recreation ground on the ridge.

An exception to the small scale plot development is the recent redevelopment north of the town of the 1950s “RAF Married Quarters” producing the Leavesden estate of over 130 dwellings with village green, and a site for a proposed Biggin Hill Heritage Centre.

Demography & Community

The population of Biggin Hill is now in excess of 10,000. The average household income in Biggin Hill is roughly in line with the Bromley average. The population is generally younger than the Borough average with a higher proportion of couples with dependant children. In 2001 there were proportionally fewer residents of retirement age than elsewhere in the Borough, however, the proportion of older residents is projected to have increased since then. Biggin Hill has the lowest mortality rate in the borough9.

Business and Employment

Biggin Hill has an average household income that is close to that of the Borough36 and there are nearly 2,500 jobs based in the area31. Over half of those working in Biggin Hill are employed in “Micro businesses” (less than 10 employees). It is estimated that there are some 900 jobs on and adjoining the Airport, providing many high skilled, highly paid jobs and training opportunities. The airport is currently working with Bromley College to provide more training and apprenticeship opportunities for local young people. The business area adjacent to the runway is restricted to airport related business such as repairs, maintenance and servicing of planes and includes the newly built Rizon hanger. Airport related businesses are also locating in nearby Vulcan Way industrial estate in New Addington (Croydon). Immediately south of the airport business area lies a general business area, comprising of smaller industrial estates some of which are currently vacant or as yet undeveloped. Some allocated industrial land has recently been redeveloped for housing. Biggin Hill is identified in the Draft London Plan as a “Strategic Outer London Development Centre”, important for its business and employment strengths and opportunities, where there may be some scope for employment growth.

The airport has been home to the “Biggin Hill Airshow”, which from 2011 will be replaced by an “Open House Air Day”. A heritage centre to celebrate the role of Biggin Hill in the ‘Battle of Britain’ is proposed for the site adjacent to the Leavesden Estate in Main Road.

Shops in Biggin Hill stretch along the west side of Main Road running along the ridge, with a slight break before the Pantiles local parade. Despite having only one main supermarket (Waitrose) and a Tesco local, the ward provides a good range of shops and services, including the new library, swimming pool & health facilities. A small supermarket serves the Leavesden Estate.

There are three local parades providing a range of shops and services. Of the 30 units only one is vacant. All the parades include a newsagent and a pharmacy. See table and pie chart below.

Commercial activity in Biggin Hill shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of Local No. of A1 A2 (Restaurant vacant Other Parade units (Retail) (Financial) /Pub units /Takeaway) Rosehill, 7 4 0 2 0 1 Biggin Hill Roundway, 7 6 0 0 1 0 Biggin Hill The Pantiles, 16 7 0 2 0 7 Biggin Hill

Social Infrastructure

There are two GP practices in Biggin Hill and another over the boundary in Tatsfield (Tandridge Borough). There are two infants and junior schools in the town and the Charles Darwin Secondary School (including public sports centre). Demand for primary places has increased Londonwide and pressures in this area are complicated by the flow of pupils across the boundary from New Addington (Croydon), although there are currently sufficient places and no plans to increase provision. Recent improvements in leisure opportunities in the area including enhancements to the recreation ground, including a skateboard park, public playground equipment in Oaklands Primary school, in the valley, and the redevelopment of the library to provide a library and swimming pool complex. Biggin Hill’s relative isolation has resulted in a self sufficient range of community facilities, including 3 churches and associated halls, youth club, Air Cadets, scouts and 2 community halls (WI Association Hall on the ridge, and the Valley Community Hall). One of the Borough’s four fire stations is based in Biggin Hill.

Connectivity

The area has relatively low connectivity considering the density of homes. Five bus routes serve the area, although only three serve the Airport terminal along the A23316. There are no rail connections near Biggin Hill, although the 454 bus route connects with the Tramlink at New Addington. The A233 (Main Road) run north-south through the town. The number of roads in and out of Biggin Hill are limited and some are very narrow, they connect the area with Bromley and Croydon. Routes south and west lead to the rural villages of Tatsfield, Berrys Green and Cudham, and Westerham, crossing the M25 but with no exit locally.

Biggin Hill Airport handles general aviation including flight schools, international private flights and business jets. It does not run any scheduled commercial flights. There are no cycle lanes in Biggin Hill.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities arise to maximise the employment potential of the area in the light of its Strategic Outer London Development Centre designation in the draft London Plan? In particular to: • enhance the attractiveness of the business areas • unlock the potential of the distinctive West Camp site • improve public transport links to Bromley and Orpington • build on the particular specialisms of avionics and advanced technology.

Is there a need to support or improve access to facilities, such as transport links, playing fields, community facilities and shops in the Valley area?

Are there opportunities to develop tourism in the area relating to the airport open house day, the proposed Heritage Centre and nearby Down House, whilst respecting and protecting environmental and historic quality?

What issues arise from the increase in the ageing population?

BROMLEY COMMON

Character

A mixed area interspersed with large areas of open land with a Green Belt designation. Development occurred in Victorian times along Bromley Common with later development spreading east and south. The older residential areas around Chatterton Road are densely populated; there is limited parking in these streets. The Bromley Common Conservation area comprises 1850s semi- detached Victorian villas which face the common. The Bromley, Hayes and Keston Commons Conservation Area is a group of conservation areas in the south. There are six conservation areas linked by common land creating a rural feel; the majority of buildings contribute to the unique characteristics of the area. Chatterton Village is a distinctive centre with a variety of independent retailers, small industrial units, restaurants and a pub.

A major new residential development by Asprey Homes is underway at the former Blue Circle Sports Ground. The development includes around 788 homes consisting of a mixture of flats and houses with all forms of ownership.

Two tributaries to the River Ravensbourne flow through the north-west and east of the area. There is a risk of flooding to dwellings and also to the grounds of the college and the new school.

Demography & Community

The majority of households in the area consist of couples with dependant children or pensioners, there are also a higher than Borough average number of single parent households2. The average household income for the area is close to that of the Borough average 36, however, there are of pockets of deprivation in the area, in particular in the Turpington Estate which has lower levels of income, education skills and higher unemployment; it is identified in the draft London Plan as an Area for Regeneration.

Business and Employment

There are a limited number of workplaces in the area. A Vauxhall car dealership, ambulance repair depot, bus garage and a McDonalds are some of the most significant employers locally.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

No. No. of Local Parade of A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 vacant Other units units Chatterton Rd, 52 31 3 5 1 3 3 6 Bromley Freelands Rd, 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 Bromley Hastings Rd, 12 9 0 1 0 1 0 1 Bromley Common Homesdale Rd, 19 8 2 3 1 2 1 2 Bromley Southborough Ln, 6 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 Bromley Common Total 92 54 5 9 3 7 4 10

There are five local parades in the area: Chatterton Village; Freelands Road; Hastings Road; Homesdale Road and Southborough Lane. Chatterton Village is the largest of these with 52 units – 31 of these are in retail use the rest in restaurant and office use. The village area also comprises small industrial units, however; over recent years several have been converted to residential use.

Social Infrastructure

There are two primary schools in the area and two secondary schools with sixth form colleges; Ravensbourne Secondary School and Bishop Justus – a school with state of the art facilities built in 2004. A specialist facility, Phoenix Pre- School is located within the area; it provides support for children diagnosed with significant social communication difficulties.

Bromley College of Higher Education offers a wide range of courses such as A- Levels, vocational courses and apprenticeships. The college also offers a range of degrees, foundation degrees and HND (Higher National Diploma) courses in partnership with the University of Greenwich.

The Bromley Common Practice is the only surgery in the area; the plan is to relocate the surgery to another site as the existing premises are cramped. Bridgeways Day Hospital located in Turpington Lane helps older people with mental health problems. As a result of the Blue Circle development extra care accommodation for the elderly has been built and a doctor’s surgery is proposed.

There are at least 14 community venues in the area, as well as Southborough Library.

Connectivity

The area is served by 8 bus routes including a night bus from Trafalgar Square, although all simply run past the area along the A21, except for route 336 which is the only bus that stops further into the residential areas. Bromley Common does not have a train station, therefore train journeys are made from Bromley South station, Bickley and Petts Wood; however, for most residents this usually involves taking a bus to get to the station. A controlled parking zone is situated in the Chatterton Road Area, alleviating pressure on residential parking. The London Cycle Network is located to the North and East of the area.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What can be done to improve the vitality of local centres of Chatterton Village, Hastings Road, Homesdale Road, Southborough Lane and Masons Hill having regard for their importance as providers of local facilities and employment?

What opportunities are there to improve public transport connectivity in this area?

What opportunities are there to provide enhanced provision for modern healthcare?

How can access to nature, the open spaces and green infrastructure be enhanced?

How can the pocket of deprivation in the area at the Turpington Lane estate be addressed?

How can parking in the Chatterton Road area be improved?

BROMLEY TOWN

Character

Bromley Town incorporates the commercial town centre and neighbouring residential districts.

Bromley was a notable market town in the 13th century, on a major coaching route to London creating a strong architectural heritage; historic buildings include Bromley and Sheppard College, the Bishops Palace and the Old Town Hall as well as churches and historic pubs and inns were founded around the Market Square area, many still exist today. The arrival of the railway and suburban expansion of London further encouraged growth as residential development radiated out from the historic market town.

The town centre today is the largest town in the Borough and designated as a Metropolitan Town Centre within London. Over recent years Bromley has faced increased competition from the growth of Croydon Town Centre and Blue Water Shopping Centre. The Bromley Town Centre Area Action Plan (AAP) is a framework for managing change and delivering planned development over the next 15 years in six defined Character Areas within the town centre.

The town area offers a variety of shopping, office and residential environments. The Glades Shopping Centre, the pedestrianised High Street area and Bromley North Village providing differing shopping experiences. The Churchill Theatre, Pavilion Leisure Centre and cinema provide entertainment, as well as a range of bars and restaurants which also help to maintain an evening economy. There are two markets; the Charter market located near to Bromley North Station; and the pedestrianised part of the High Street which serves as an open air space for a range of markets and events throughout the year. The town is a key area for employment, with a number of offices occupied by large British and multi-national companies.

A distinctive feature of the town centre is an unusually good provision of green open space. Church House Gardens links the High Street with Martin’s Hill recreation ground, both of which slope down to Queens Mead recreation ground in Shortlands. The Queens Garden lies to the rear of the Glades Shopping Centre and the grounds of the Bromley Palace is located on the Civic Centre site. Residential development in the town centre area is relatively limited. There are distinctive Victorian terraced dwellings in Bromley North Village and in the vicinity of Bromley North Station, which stretch north and north east and incorporate a small business area at Farwig Lane. Parking provision is a key problem in these Victorian areas and parking is controlled to reduce the pressures in a number of residential streets. There is a concentration of flats above The Mall shopping centre and dwellings behind the High Street sloping down towards Bromley South Station and also to Shortlands in the valley to the west. Beyond the immediate town centre environment there is a dramatic contrast between the town centre and the residential suburban setting, east of Kentish Way (A21) stretching towards Bickley. In addition to the classic two storey family development there have been significant developments of flats close to the A21 running north and south east and to the east running along Widmore Road (A222).

The River Ravensbourne runs just west of the town centre, substantially through open space.

Demography & Community

The nature of the population reflects the differing housing types outlined above. Around the Town Centre there is a significantly higher proportion of rented homes than in other parts of the Borough, the percentage of homes owned outright is less than the Borough average. There are also fewer family and pensioner households and a higher percentage of single person households and couples without children2. These characteristics change as developments of flats give way to family style housing further from the town centre and away from the main ‘A’ roads. The area has an average household income that is close to that of the Borough average36.

Business and Employment

Bromley is the Borough’s main employment centre with a number of companies having their head offices located here such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of America. Office accommodation is predominantly located around Bromley South Station and a secondary office area in the north of the town centre on London Road. While there is some good quality stock, other areas could be improved both in terms of public realm and building fabric. The ‘Economic Development & Employment Land Study’ has highlighted the importance of reinforcing the role of the office sector and the quality of accommodation in town centres34.

Just north of the town centre lies the Farwig Lane industrial area which includes The Big Yellow Storage Company. A new Travelodge hotel is to be built just opposite Farwig Lane on London Road.

Town Centres & Shopping:

Bromley is the Borough’s main shopping destination and contains key national retailers including Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Next, Boots, Primark, W H Smith, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. Bromley lies in 34th place as set out in the CACI annual retail rankings (2010) slightly behind Croydon (29th) and Bluewater (11th) and has over 100,000 sqm of retail floorspace.

There are a total of 414 premises, including The Glades, of which 10% are vacant37. The Town Centre and its surroundings are by far the largest centre of employment in the Borough. There are nearly 26,000 jobs based in the area; about a quarter of all the jobs in the Borough. During the recent economic downturn shoppers visiting Bromley has fallen from 216,450 in 2009-10 to 173,160 in 2010-1141.

Outside of the Town Centre the area has four Local Parades with a combined total of 77 commercial units. Collectively only 5 of the units are vacant. 39.

Commercial activity in Bromley town shopping parades

No. A3/A4/A5 No. of A1 A2 Local Parade of (Restaurant/Pub/ vacant Other (Retail) (Financial) units Takeaway) units College Road 21 10 0 5 2 0 Homesdale Rd, 19 8 2 6 1 2 Bromley London Rd, Bromley 12 8 0 2 2 0 Masons Hill, Bromley 25 11 3 6 0 5

Social Infrastructure

The Bromley Town Centre Area Action Plan aims to strengthen the town’s competitive standing, deliver almost 2,000 additional homes and necessary supporting infrastructure.

There are five primary schools in the area. Pressures on rolls are continuing to increase resulting in expansion of existing primary schools. Ravensbourne, a mixed secondary school with sixth form is located in the area and there is good public transport access to secondary schools elsewhere in the Borough.

There are four GP surgeries, one in the heart of the town centre. The AAP identifies the opportunity for enhanced health provision on a development site in the High Street.

Bromley Police station is a 24 hour facility containing the entire Borough’s holding cells. One of the Borough’s four fire stations is located in the Town Centre; options are currently being explored for more suitable accommodation. The main Council offices are located in the Civic Centre providing services direct to calling members of the public.

The Pavilion Leisure Centre is located centrally and includes a gym, swimming pool and a variety of sports halls, the centre is due to undergo major refurbishment works and the installation of a bowling alley. The Churchill Theatre and Bromley Central Library are sited on the High Street. There are many places of worship and a number of halls and other community facilities located within the town centre.

Connectivity

There are 21 bus routes operating in Bromley Town, including a 24 hour and two night buses, with one operating between London. Bromley North Railway Station provides a shuttle link to Grove Park where passengers are required to change for onward destinations. At Grove Park services run to Lewisham, London Bridge, Cannon Street and Charing Cross as well as also Orpington and Sevenoaks. Bromley South Railway Station is one of the busiest railway stations in South London with 600,000 passenger movements per annum. Locally it is a major transport hub with good rail connections to the rest of the Borough. Train services run to Central London, Kentish Town and St Pancras as well as Gillingham, Ashford International, Dover Priory, Ramsgate and Sevenoaks. There are links to several bus routes and access to the Croydon Tramlink via Beckenham Junction. The A21 red route runs straight through the centre of the whole area for road access around London and the M25. Cyclists are also well connected to the rest of the Borough and London, with three London Cycle Network routes criss-crossing the town centre.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

Issues relating to the future of Bromley Town Centre were considered through the recently adopted Area Action Plan, including

• The potential to create distinctive zones of activity including leisure/ culture which will add diversity and create new destinations within the town centre. • The protection and enhancement of features of heritage • The capacity of the town centre to accommodate new development whilst protecting residential amenity and the character of the historic parts of the town centre. • The need to attract major retailers into the town centre to maintain its competitive position by increasing the capacity and quality of the retail offer. • The need to maintain a healthy local economy. • The adequacy of public transport facilities, and public parking • The importance of providing additional housing and securing the provision of appropriate health, education and community facilities to meet the needs of existing and new residents.

The AAP included an interim statement in respect of education provision. In light of recent pressure on school rolls what opportunities are there to address further pressures on primary school provision as the population of the town centre increases?

How can the contribution of Farwig Lane industrial estate to local employment be enhanced?

What are the implications of growth in the town centre for the suburban character of nearby residential roads?

CHELSFIELD, GREEN STREET GREEN AND PRATTS BOTTOM

Character

The character of the area reflects the abrupt halt in the advance of the London suburban development by the introduction of tight Green Belt controls in the mid 1950s. In the late 19th century the area was open countryside with scattered farms, manor houses and small hamlets at Green Street Green, Pratts Bottom and Chelsfield, with Chelsfield station built some ½ mile from the village.

“Chelsfield Park” built in the 1920s, is a private estate, lying south east of Chelsfield Station. Comprising large detached dwellings with spacious gardens, many in excess of 400ft long, the estate was designed with a cricket and tennis club at its heart.

Suburban growth spread south east encompassing Green Street Green, stretching to Chelsfield Station and developing around Pratts Bottom, but leaving Chelsfield village and Chelsfield Park relatively untouched. The suburban development is mainly 1940s residential commuter development of detached and semi-detached dwellings and includes areas of social house building, much of which is now privately owned. These properties typically have good sized gardens and off-street parking. The estates were laid out including schools, places of worship but local shops remain limited to the pre- existing villages, with the exception of Crescent Way parade, close to Green Street Green. Pockets of residential development, built after the extent of suburban growth was set the Green Belt constraints, are laid out at a higher density in a cul-de-sac style, much of which is a long walk from local shops.

Connected to suburban Bromley by the A21, Pratts Bottom is a small hamlet which straddles the boundary with Sevenoaks. Comprising mainly detached dwellings, the village boasts a green, shops, pub and churches, which lie within the Bromley Borough.

Chelsfield Village is linked to the suburban area by the A224 Orpington Bypass, however, being separated by a swathe of Green Belt it has retained much of its original character. Throughout the area there are smaller village properties and some bungalows. It is a Conservation Area which includes several historic buildings, although the oldest building in the village, the flint church, which dates back to 1086, is cut off from the village by the bypass. The Five Bells pub is also of local historic interest and both church and pub are statutory listed.

The Green and Glentrammon Recreation Ground are located at the heart the area and valued by local residents. The Green Belt is used mainly for arable farming, market gardening and horticulture as well as a golf course and school playing fields. The southern part of the area is the most heavily wooded; part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty comes into the area on the east.

A proposal for 1,100 homes to be built at Fort Halstead in the adjacent borough of Sevenoaks was rejected in 2010. The Sevenoaks Core Strategy indicates that the site will be retained for business use unless it can be demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of continued use, in which case any redevelopment will be considered in light of Sevenoaks Core Strategy Policy and national guidance governing Major Developed Sites in the Green Belt.

Demography & Community

There are fewer people living on their own in this area, reflecting the predominantly family style of the dwellings. Despite the fact that there are significant areas of purpose built social housing there are a high proportion of home owners as people took advantage of the Right to Buy in this desirable urban fringe area. Chelsfield has an average household income that is close to that of the Borough average36. Most households have a car and a large proportion of workers travel to work by car or van although many commute up to London from nearby Chelsfield Station.

Business and Employment

There are almost 2,500 jobs based in the area40. Chelsfield, Green St Green and Pratts Bottom shopping parades have a high number of occupied units; out of 98 retail units only 2 are vacant. The majority of the units are retail, which indicates that the local parades are valuable to local residents39.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of No. of A1 A2 Local Parade (Restaurant/ vacant Other units (Retail) (Financial) Pub/Takeaway) units Crescent Way, 22 14 0 6 2 0 Green St Green High St, Green 48 31 3 9 0 5 St Green Sevenoaks Rd, 6 5 0 1 0 0 Pratts Bottom Windsor Drive, 22 10 1 4 0 7 Chelsfield

Green Street Green local centre consists of small independent retailers and a large supermarket (Waitrose). A small number of commercial units are located on Warren Road (Chelsfield Motor Works) and Orpington by pass (Hewitts Farm). Hewitts Farm is a family run business set in 78 acres of land. Located on the Orpington by-pass the farm shop allows members of the public to pick their own fruit and vegetables for sale through the farm shop. Boot fairs are also held during the winter months. Social Infrastructure

Three doctor’s surgeries are located in the main part of Chelsfield and Bromley Hospitals Trust provides health services at Orpington Hospital (no A&E).

There are six primary schools in the locality; the intake at Warren Road Primary School has recently increased from three forms of entry to four. Provision for secondary schools is made available in other parts of the Borough. Children are also able to enrol at schools in neighbouring local authorities. Approximately 12 community venues, such as community halls, are located within the area.

Connectivity

There are fewer connections to public transport in rural areas, although 7 bus routes serve Green Street Green and there is a route to Chelsfield village16. Chelsfield Station and Knockholt Station operate train services to Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Orpington. Trains also run to London Bridge. The area is very well connected by road with both the A21 and A232 connecting to the nearby M25 and the rest of the borough to the west. Sevenoaks Road (A21) has cycle lanes starting at Locks Bottom, running through Green Street Green towards Bromley South for access to the London Cycle Network.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

Are there opportunities to address problems of isolation of many homes from shops and services?

Is there a need or scope to improve accessibility to local employment in this predominantly suburban commuter area?

Acknowledging the restrictions of the Green Belt designation, how can the benefits of the excellent transport connections with rail links to London and access to the M25 be maximised?

What potential is there to enhance the recreational use of the large areas of green open space?

Are there opportunities to address parking problems around local train stations and centres?

What is the scope to support the vitality of village life and rural communities moving forward?

CHISLEHURST

Character

A typically suburban area with significant green space and recreational facilities, the majority of dwellings tend to be detached or semi-detached. A large part of the area falls within the Chislehurst Conservation Area which incorporates diverse styles and types of development and open space. The Mavelstone Road Conservation Area is a small area with strong representation of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. Local sites of interest include Chislehurst Caves, Scadbury Manor and Camden Place, a residence of Napoleon III in the 1870s, it is now a grade I listed building.

Royal Parade and Chislehurst High Streets are the main local centres, they are relatively busy and both support a thriving night time economy due to restaurants and pubs.

A major development is underway in Walden Road for 251 dwellings; the proposal is to include a number of homes for smaller family units or couples. A similar development on South Hill Road was recently completed for 76 dwellings.

Kyd Brook flows along the western boundary; there is a risk of flooding associated with this watercourse.

Demography & Community

The number of households of couples with no children or solely of pensioners is higher than the Borough average. With the exception of Chislehurst North the area also has the highest proportion of over 75s in the Borough; the north has one of the lowest proportions of over 75s in the Borough. The average income for the ward is above average compared with the Borough average. Home ownership in Chislehurst is high and the majority of workers tend to be skilled workers or professionals. A significant number drive to work, travel by train or work from home2.

The number of social rented units is half the Bromley average; however, Pockets of deprivation are present in the Chislehurst north area, with some households experiencing lower income, poorer access to healthcare and fewer educational skills than in the rest of the area10.

Business and Employment

Unemployment in the area is low. Chislehurst Business Centre, located on Bromley Lane, offers fully serviced office space on long and short term contracts. Several local businesses are located here because of the close links to the M25 and London.

Chislehurst High Street is a vibrant high street which runs from Chislehurst Common to Chislehurst Library. The high street contains a typical mix of shop units, restaurants, travel agents, banks and building societies. Sainsbury’s supermarket is located on the corner of High Street and Willow Grove. The Co-op are due to open a new store on the corner of Green Lane and Belmont Lane.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of No. of A1 A2 Local Parade (Restaurant / Pub vacant Other units (Retail) (Financial) / Takeaway) units Edgehill Rd, 11 3 1 1 3 3 Chislehurst Green Lane, 21 16 1 3 1 0 Chislehurst Old Hill, 8 5 1 2 0 0 Chislehurst Royal Parade, 18 14 0 4 0 0 Chislehurst Walden Rd, 8 6 1 0 0 1 Chislehurst White Horse 11 8 0 1 1 1 Hill, Chislehurst Totals 77 52 4 6 5 5

There are six local parades; Edgehill Road, Green Lane, Old Hill Chislehurst, Royal Parade Chislehurst, Walden Road and White Horse Hill. Apart from a few vacancies in Edgehill Road and Green Lane, all the parades are thriving.

There is also some commercial activity linked to open space in the east of the area.

Social Infrastructure

There are four Secondary Schools, three of which have sixth forms. The area has eight primary schools. The relocation and expansion of Chislehurst Church of England School is currently being explored. Chislehurst Library is a located in a relatively accessible area in Red Hill.

There are two doctors’ surgeries in the area. The nearest hospital serving the community is Queen Mary’s in Sidcup, although outside of the Borough it is part of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust. The nearest A&E is the Princess Royal in Farnborough.

Green space covers a large part of the area and there are a several parks, golf courses, sports grounds and three allotment gardens. There is also a link to the Green Chain walk.

Connectivity

The high street and central areas are well served by seven bus routes, including a night bus between Chislehurst War Memorial and Oxford Circus, however, only few of these routes serve residential areas16. Chislehurst Railway Station operates services to Sevenoaks, Cannon Street, Charing Cross and London Bridge. For some commuters Elmstead Station (on the same line) is more convenient in terms of connectivity. Residents also use Bickley Station due to its connectivity to St. Pancras International, Victoria and Charing Cross. The nearest red route for drivers is the A20 to the North East for the M25 or Central London. The A222 through Chislehurst Common leads towards Bromley Town and the A21 red route. The London Cycle Network runs along the west side of Chislehurst from Bromley Town and north towards Central London.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities exist to address pockets of deprivation experienced in the area?

Is there a need to broaden leisure and social interaction in the area?

What are the implications of isolation amongst elderly and how can this be addressed?

What can be done to maintain and encourage the diversity of retail uses in the town centre?

How can parking in the High Street and other busy areas be better managed?

How can the protection, access and management of the commons, woodland and farmland be enhanced?

CLOCK HOUSE, ELMERS END & EDEN PARK

Character

Much of the area became developed in the inter-war suburban London expansion when growth, closely linked to the development of the railways, occurred around existing settlements. Clock House developed around the station and along the main route between Penge and Beckenham; Elmers End grew from an earlier settlement around the green; Eden Park grew out from the station as commuter development spread south east.

The interwar suburbs merged together and as a result have many characteristics in common. The area consists predominantly of terraced and semi detached two storey three bed roomed family properties, with very few flats other than close to some train and tram stops. There is an early social housing estate near Elmers End station, but no large scale social housing. Most homes have private gardens, front and back, and easy access to nearby local retail parades and recreation grounds. Some suburban roads have retained their particular residential styles and qualities and have Conservation Area status. To the east the area merges into Park Langley.

There is significant on street parking, the area having been substantially built before widespread car ownership. In addition, the good rail connections encourage commuter parking. Where deep enough, many front gardens have been paved to provide off-street parking.

The area benefits from a several large playing fields, recreation grounds as well as allotments and significant areas private open space around the Royal Bethlem Hospital. The hospital site and stretches of open space along the route of the Beck are designated Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation. Both The Beck and Chaffinch Brook run through the area, putting it at risk from flooding11.

Demography & Community

The population is younger than the Borough average and home ownership is slightly higher than the Borough average2. The area is fairly typical of the Borough in respect of household income36, although measures of income as well as health, education and employment are not uniform but tend to be higher to the east, towards Beckenham and generally lower towards the west and the border with Croydon, notably in areas of social housing around Elmers End10.

Business and Employment

Beckenham is classed as a District Centre and the High Street provides a range of shops (including national chains) community facilities, leisure opportunities and a lively nightlife.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of No. of A1 A2 Local Parade (Restaurant/ vacant Other units (Retail) (Financial) Pub/Takeaway) units Beckenham Rd, 47 19 3 12 8 5 Beckenham Croydon Rd, 27 18 0 5 3 1 Beckenham Croydon Rd, 55 30 0 12 6 7 Elmers End Elmers End Rd, 29 11 2 3 5 8 Elmers End Upper Elmers 23 13 1 5 2 2 End Rd (1), Beckenham Upper Elmers 27 13 0 7 2 5 End Rd (2), Beckenham Wickham Rd, 9 8 1 0 0 0 Beckenham Total 217 112 7 44 26 28

Stretching between Beckenham and Penge is a disjointed ribbon of shops along Beckenham Road. Beckenham Road has 10 takeaways and eight vacant units which at 42% is high percentage compared with other local parades. 20

Towards Beckenham, around Clock House station and Beckenham Road tram stop, there are office blocks (Capita Registrars Ltd) and the Beckenham Spa Leisure Centre.

Elmers End, with train and tram stop, provides a wide range of shops, but few major retailers with the exception of the Tesco superstore. Elmers End includes Tannery Close & Chaffinch business parks, which have a significant number of trade outlets. There is a small range of local shops around Eden Park Station with few vacancies. A small parade on Wickham Road provides some basic shops to properties east of Kelsey Park.

There are a number of small industrial works, most notably along the railway tracks, such as the units in Rowden Road which make a useful contribution to local employment.

There are two vacant former business sites in the area, both in areas at risk of flooding:

• Glaxo Smith Kline have recently vacated their research establishment and the site has development potential. • The former London Electricity Board site adjacent to Churchfields primary school.

With good tram and rail connections many residents commute to employment outside the Borough eg Croydon or London.

Social Infrastructure

There are five GP surgeries in the area, two housed in the Beckenham Beacon. The Bethlem Royal hospital provides psychiatric care across south London. A fire station is located on Beckenham Road.

There are 25 community venues in or bordering the area, significantly clustering around Clock House, Beckenham and along the A214 Croydon Road. The Beckenham Spa leisure centre comprises a pool, gym and a number of sports halls; the adjacent library and Beckenham Studio remain in community use. Away from the centres and main roads, facilities are sparser, limited mainly to sports pavilions.

Demand for primary school places has increased across the Borough and Londonwide. Both Unicorn and Churchfields primary are increasing the reception intake to meet current demand.

There are three single sex secondary schools in the area, Kelsey Park, Langley Boys and Langley Girls. There is desire locally for a mixed secondary school and the Harris Federation of academies is interested in making provision in the area. Pressure in this area is also influenced by the flow of pupils to and from Croydon.

Connectivity

All three areas have a good range of public transport links to neighbouring boroughs and London Terminals although public transport to Bromley Town Centre is limited to 4 bus routes. All three areas have rail stations on the Hayes to Charing Cross line which link to the Docklands Light Railway at Lewisham. Elmers End, Avenue Road, Beckenham Road and Birkbeck lie on the Tramlink route which connects to Croydon, Beckenham, Wimbledon and New Addington. There are 9 bus routes in the area, including a night bus to Clock House from Oxford Circus.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

How can the suburban residential character of the area be maintained?

How can issues relating to commuter parking be addressed?

Can better use be made of the good recreational and sports provision and allotments?

Could different uses help to reduce the number of vacant shops along the main routes?

What opportunities do the large vacant business sites offer?

What are the implications of facilities and services shared across the Borough boundary? In particular what is the future shape of education provision?

CRAY VALLEY, ST PAUL’S CRAY & ST MARY CRAY

Character

The River Cray has historically been the focus for the area. Roman Baths were discovered at Poverest Road and there is evidence that the area has been inhabited since at least the Middle Stone Age.

The character is mixed commercial and residential and changed over time. Older buildings dating back to a period of expansion in the 19th and early 20th Century related chiefly to the paper mill industry and the arrival of the railway, whose labourers formed the Cray Wanderers Football Club. The settlement, running south, followed the course of the river, from Main Road St Paul’s Cray, along High Street St Mary Cray. These pre World War I dwellings are generally tightly packed workers cottages, shops and Mission Hall. The key historic features are encompassed within the two Conservation Areas. The Cray Valley was also an “Atchin Tan” (stopping area) for Gypsy and Traveller families working on Kent farms and Star Lane Cemetery is historically very important to the traveller community.

The Orpington Bypass, (Cray Avenue), developed in the 1920s, runs north south, parallel to the River Cray and St Mary Cray High Street. Subsequently, interwar housing, including suburban terraces, semis and many detached bungalows, clustered along St Mary Cray, High Street, south of St Mary Cray Station and along Cray Avenue stretching north to St Paul’s Cray. In the 1930s Cray Avenue hosted factories for many household names, encouraged to locate by the good access to the national road network. These have now substantially given way to warehousing and retail park development.

St Mary Cray and St Paul’s Cray owe much of their character to the London County Council “cottage estates” house building of the 1950s which developed rapidly in the London Green Belt. The social housing estates lie both west and east of the valley, north and south of the railway line, consisting chiefly of two storey houses and maisonettes with small rear gardens. They were designed with some large areas of open space, schools facilities and access to local shops. Additionally there are some high rise blocks of flats close to the shops at St Mary Cray High Street and Cotmandene Crescent. The estate roads are narrow and there is significant on street and front garden parking, however, where there are small greens, verges and street trees the impact of the parking is softened. The character of the St Paul’s Cray estate, to the west, is little changed other than extensions to, now privately owned homes (under the “right to buy” legislation) and 1980s cul-de-sac infill development, notably on the site of former pubs and the Walsingham School. However, significant areas of the St Mary Cray estates to the east are in poor physical condition and some have seen wholesale redevelopment providing social housing at higher densities (e.g. Riverbirds Estate). The tower blocks (Horton and Alkham) are vacant and have redevelopment potential. To the west the valley rises up through Poverest towards Petts Wood where residential spatial standards are more generous and properties tend to be owner occupied.

The River Cray remains open and accessible in places although the network is halted as parts are culverted and inaccessible for nature and people. Towards the east of the valley the Crays are bordered by a significant swathe of Green Belt comprising farmland, parkland, and golf courses. There are a range of leisure activities taking place, such as walking and a range of sporting activities. There are sites of nature conservation interest at Scadbury Park and a nature reserve, fishing lake and a Site of Special Scientific Interest at Ruxley. Two Council Gypsy and Traveller sites border the area at Star Lane and Old Maidstone Road.

Demography & Community

The Cray Valley has a relatively young population and a higher than average number of younger mothers. In terms of education and training it includes some of the most deprived areas in the Borough, with a higher proportion than the national average of young people without qualifications.

The area has significantly lower incomes than the Borough generally, with the lowest proportions of residents working as managers or senior officials in the Borough. It has an unemployment rate higher than the sub-regional average, more akin to inner London31 and a high proportion of unemployed residents with low or no qualifications3. Additionally, there is a higher proportion of children in families where neither adult is working and a high proportion of single parent families2.

Residents have consistently lower life expectancy and poorer health and there are a higher proportion of residents with limiting long term illness than both the Borough and London average2. There is a high prevalence of lung related health problems and diabetes, linked to obesity35. Parts of the area, around Cotmandene Crescent and to the rear of St Mary Cray High Street exhibit particularly high levels of multiple deprivation and have been identified as an “Area for Regeneration” in the draft London Plan.

The Crays has one of the largest groups of Gypsies and Travellers in England, estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500 families, the significant majority of which have been housed in “bricks and mortar” as it became harder to find stopping places in this area. Gypsy and traveller families tend to be much larger than the general population, have the lowest educational results of any ethnic minority group (Ofsted) and the health and well-being of Gypsies and Travellers is the poorest of any ethnic minority group in the UK, with an average life expectancy 10 years less for men and 12 years less for women than the general population32.

Business and Employment

St Mary Cray was displaced by Orpington to the south as the dominant centre, allied to the key industrial activity along Cray Avenue. Local shops and services are scattered through a number of local parades, the greatest range of shops and the St Mary Cray Station lying to the west of the Valley and Cray Avenue. To the east of the valley, local facilities are scattered the historic route from St Paul’s Cray to St Mary Cray, with clusters around the churches of St Paulinus and St Mary’s, providing a variety of basic shops and services including Police Station, GP surgery and youth centre. West of Cray Avenue there is a good range of some 25 shops at Marion Crescent and the largest centre, with over 50 units lies within the St Paul’s Cray Estate around the Cotmandene Crescent parade. This centre includes a small Co-op supermarket and a range of shops and services in the centre, including a library and health centre but a high level of vacancy (approximately 20%). Cotmadene Crescent has the highest number of vacant units within the area.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of No. of A1 A2 (Restaurant / Local Parade vacant Other units (Retail) (Financial) Pub / units Takeaway) Chipperfield Rd, 13 5 0 4 3 1 Sayers Court Rd, St Mary Cray Cotmandene 51 25 2 8 10 6 Crescent, St Paul’s Cray Grovelands Rd, St 6 3 1 2 1 1 Paul’s Cray High St, St Mary Cray 23 9 1 2 2 9 Kent Rd, St Mary Cray 5 1 0 1 2 1 Leith Hill, St Paul’s 7 4 0 1 2 0 Cray Main Rd, St Paul’s 9 7 0 2 0 0 Cray Marion Crescent, St 28 15 1 6 5 1 Paul’s Cray Mountfield Way, St 5 4 0 0 1 0 Mary Cray Tillingbourne Green, 10 3 0 1 3 3 St Mary Cray Total 157 76 5 27 29 22

Large scale food retailing is provided by Tesco, at the far north of the area bordering Bexley and in Orpington to the south. The Nugent retail park Cray Avenue also includes an M&S Foodhall. The companies that dominated Sevenoaks Way from the 1930s up to the 1980s employed thousands of people from the nearby housing estates and Orpington in general. The main industrial activity clusters north and south of St Mary Cray Station and extends north through St Paul’s Cray where there is a thriving modern industrial estate (e.g. northern St Paul’s Cray New Mill Lane area). Further north at Ruxley corner, along the old main route west (Edgington Way / Maidstone Road) the business area links across the Borough boundary into Foots Cray (Bexley). This cross borough business area and the areas around St Mary Cray Station are designated the London Plan and new draft London Plan for business, although some industrial business units have given way to retail warehousing

Social Infrastructure

There are 8 primary schools in this area, including Poverest School which besides primary education offers a range of adult education courses. Demand for primary places has increased London-wide & there is consideration of an additional form of entry on a temporary basis to meet demand. Rectory Paddock is a special school that educates pupils between the ages of 4 and 19. Kemnal Technology College is a boys’ school located in the area, with a mixed sixth form; girls’ schools are located in neighbouring areas. There are four GP’s in the area. Over 20 community venues, with clusters along St Mary Cray High Street and Chipperfield Road / Cotmandene Crescent, including a “Community Shop”. There is a range of local community groups including church groups and the Friends of Cray Valley Park (organisers of the Cray Valley Festival) and the Gypsy Traveller Project provides support specifically to that community. Public houses and local parades, at St Mary Cray Station, Tillingbourne Green, Leith Hill and Grovelands Rd have dwindled and provide limited services to the local communities they were built to serve, some with considerable vacancy. Pubs, many of which were poorly managed, have mostly been redeveloped for housing, notably all four pubs on the St Paul’s Cray estate have now gone. The Walnuts leisure centre lies to the south in Orpington, however, the golf courses, driving range, ski centre and private health club serve local people and the wider Borough. “Cray Wanderers”, the second oldest association football club in the world, are seeking to relocate the club, academy and community scheme, back into the area.

Connectivity

The Cray area is well served by 10 bus routes, including a night bus travelling between St. Mary Cray station and Trafalgar Square, and a stop in St. Mary Cary High Street running to regular services to Bluewater. St Mary Cray Train Station is located centrally with lines running West to Bromley South, and the St. Pancras International line from Swanley and Sevenoaks to Central London. Sevenoaks Way (A224) runs north south through the centre of the area, past the busy Nugent Shopping Park to Crittles Corner for access to the A20 red route, M25 and national motorway network. Sevenoaks Way (A224) has cycle lanes joining the London Cycle Network Route, which is the closest to the area and starts in Orpington.

KEY ISSUES AND MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities arise from the identification in the draft London Plan of parts of the Cray Valley as “Areas for Regeneration”, to address the issues of multiple deprivation, particularly in respect of improving poor health and education achievement in the area?

How can the quality of the housing stock be improved? Is additional residential development is desirable or needed?

Are there opportunities to address the employment needs of the area through changes to the business areas? • Should the continuing shift from industrial to retail warehousing or other commercial activities be resisted or supported? • How can modern business needs be addressed to increase employment? • Is there scope to designate new modern business areas? • Are there opportunities to address congestion and parking issues related to commercial activity?

What is the impact of the loss of local shops and public houses? Could diversification help to reinvigorate the local parades?

What opportunities are there to deepen community engagement through enhanced leisure and social activities, especially young people? Can more effective use be made of the existing community venues and open space to support regeneration efforts in the area?

Will addressing the challenges for the wider community also address the particular issues of the Gypsy and Traveller community or is there a need for a specifically tailored approach?

How can the quality of the public realm and the built environment (historic, residential and commercial) in the Valley be enhanced?

How can the natural environment be protected, enhanced and expanded to form a green grid that is accessible for people (health, enjoyment and mental well-being) and nature?

What opportunities are there to enhance suitable recreation and sustainable farming in the area around Sandy Lane?

FARNBOROUGH AND CROFTON

Character

Farnborough and Crofton is a suburban area with mainly semi-detached and detached housing.

The Romans were some of the earliest settlers in the area; Crofton Villa is one example of this. It was occupied during the 9th century, the remains of the building exist today and the site is a tourist attraction. There are many Listed Buildings in the Farnborough Village such as the Church of St Giles the Abbot. The village itself is now designated as a Conservation Area.

During the interwar years most of the intervening farmland was developed with low density housing including single storey bungalows and two storey semi-detached houses. Farnborough Park Conservation Area and part of the Keston Park Conservation Area are within the locality. They comprise larger detached homes and there are examples of buildings from the Arts and Crafts or Garden City movements and a style typical to early 20th century suburban developments in the United States.

The Darrick Wood Estate, Broadwater Gardens is a well designed and maintained social housing estate built in the 1980s. The addition of nine new dwellings and a series of renovations were recently made as well as the addition of a new community centre.

Almost half of the area is green space. It includes Darrick, Sparrow and Newstead Woods and also a large area of Green Belt to the south. There is a wooded appearance to the area due to the low density and its secluded private estates. A branch of the river Ravensbourne also runs northwards passing Locksbottom and gives rise to flood risk in that area.

Demography & Community

The population in this area is characterised by a higher than average percentage of over 65s and over 75s, a lower than average proportion of under 5s9. The area is expected to see the largest reduction (5%) in the under 20 year age group in the Borough9. The average household income for the area is close to that of the Borough average36 and home ownership is high2, although there are local variations with the Darrick Wood Estate experiencing lower households incomes, higher unemployment and poorer levels of health and education skills and training10.

Business and Employment

There are over 6,500 jobs based in the area 40. The main shopping area in Locksbottom is Crofton Road, it is a vibrant area with few vacancies. Many of the retail units, including Sainsbury’s, provide local employment as does the Princess Royal University Hospital. The majority of the six thousand residents commute to London and other areas for work.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

No. of Local No. of A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 vacant Other Parade units units High Street, 18 9 0 2 1 1 1 4 Farnborough Village Kelvin 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 Parade, Crofton Total 24 15 0 2 1 1 1 4

Social Infrastructure

The Princess Royal University Hospital located in Locksbottom is a modern hospital with an accident and emergency, cancer treatment unit and a range of other health facilities. There are three doctors’ surgeries within the locality. There are two secondary schools in the area, Newstead Wood School for Girls and Darrick Wood, both have mixed sixth forms. There are six primary schools in the area and as with other parts of the Borough there is pressure on places23. Several churches are located in residential areas; they provide the community with a range of essential facilities for the youth and the elderly, and there are several active community groups in the area. A range of leisure facilities exist such as Darrick Wood Swimming Pool and Sports Centre, although part of Darrick Wood School, it is open to the public. Bromley Tennis Club is located within the grounds of Newstead Wood School; it is a state-of-the-art indoor tennis centre that can be accessed by all members of the community. Farnborough Common is widely used by a range of outdoor clubs such as cricket clubs and there is good assess to woodland and countryside in the vicinity of Farnborough Village.

Connectivity

The area has good public transport connectivity, which comprises a network of 11 bus routes, including a night bus from Trafalgar Square & Charing Cross Station stopping along Crofton Road16. Orpington Station is the most convenient railway station for local residents, it acts as a transport interchange for buses and trains. Direct services operate to most areas of Bromley, there are fast trains to Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Bridge. Services also run to Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford International. Some commuters also use Petts Wood Station. The A232 (Crofton Road) and A21 red routes cut through the middle of the area allowing swift access to the rest of the Borough and M25. Cyclists can take the A21 cycle lane through Green Street Green, Farnborough and Locksbottom to meet the many London Cycle Network routes starting from Bromley South.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities exist to improve the availability of primary healthcare?

How can parking pressure around the Princess Royal University Hospital be addressed?

What is the scope for community groups to assist in improving their environment?

What future challenges are posed by Biggin Hill Airport?

CRYSTAL PALACE, PENGE & ANERLEY

Character

The far North West is dominated by Crystal Palace Park, set at the top of a high ridge and at the junction of five London boroughs. Closely packed urban development occurred rapidly from the time of the Great Exhibition in 1861. The larger Victorian residential development around the park spread downhill into the Penge & Anerley and smaller workers’ homes.

Conservation areas protect a range of historic development, including the large Victorian villas, smaller workers’ cottages (Alexandra Cottages), and almshouses (Watermans Square) and the Park itself. Former bomb sites, railway sidings and other open areas were developed, and the majority of the large Victorian properties have been converted into flats, resulting in the area being densely populated. Parts of Penge and Anerley also include distinct social housing estate developments which have been developed at some of the highest densities in the Borough (up to 65 units per hectare). Access to off street parking and to private garden space is limited.

The historic reliance upon local facilities has produced a concentrated network of local parades and centres making it difficult to draw clear boundaries between neighbouring communities within and beyond the Borough boundary.

The area is dominated by the historic Crystal Palace Park. Designated as Metropolitan Open Space (MOL) and part of Green Chain it is archeologically significant includes a significant Site of Interest for Nature Conservation and the listed Dinosaurs. Two further areas of MOL run across the border into Croydon, including Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery. However, the tight urban development is interspersed by only small recreation grounds, allotments and school playing fields. Significant areas of Penge and Anerley lack public open space8.

Demography & Community

The 2001 census indicated that proportion of lone parents was high and the number of one person households was approximately double the Borough average, whereas the proportion of retired people and couples with children was relatively low. It is hard to determine the extent to which the slowing of the housing market has influenced the makeup of households the area over the last decade however there were a relatively high proportion of households living in unsuitable accommodation in 20094.

The area includes higher proportions of ethnic minority groups and non Christian populations than elsewhere in the Borough1 & 29. In respect of health, life expectancy is lower than the England average32. There is a high prevalence of mental illness35 and the proportion of residents with limiting long term illness than both the Borough and London average2. Looking toward future health issues the level of obesity is amongst the highest in the Borough9.

The area exhibits relatively high levels of multiple deprivation, particularly in respect of health, education, crime and income10. Some areas fall within the 20% most deprived areas of the country, therefore it is designated as an “Area for Regeneration” in the London Plan1. The area has an unemployment rate higher than the sub-regional average, more akin to inner London31.

Business and Employment

There is a patchwork of district centres and shopping parades, notably: • Crystal Palace / Upper Norwood Triangle crosses three boroughs and is designated as a District Centre in the London Plan for Croydon and Lambeth boroughs. It is a vibrant retail centre with leisure and community facilities and a particular focus on the night time economy. • Penge High Street (A234) remains quite busy, although much of the public realm areas are run down and cluttered. Maple Road has declined in recent years, the former market having ceased to operate. Yeoman House in Croydon Road is currently undergoing conversion into a 89 bedroom Travelodge Hotel. • Anerley Hill / Elmers End Rd (A214) is the main south east route down from the Park, with shops and businesses strung out at Anerley and Elmers End Road

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of No. of A1 A2 (Restaurant/ Local Parade vacant Other units (Retail) (Financial) Pub/ units Takeaway) Anerley Hill/Anerley 59 32 7 8 9 3 Rd (1), Anerley Anerley Rd 33 11 2 4 4 12 (2)/Anerley/Anerley Station Rd, Anerley Church Rd, Crystal 25 8 1 3 7 6 Palace Croydon Road, 6 2 1 1 1 1 Penge High St, Penge 16 3 0 1 5 7 Kent House Rd, 9 7 0 1 0 1 Penge Newlands Park (1), 7 4 0 1 2 0 Penge Newlands Park (2), 7 2 0 1 2 2 Penge Parish Lane, Penge 12 3 0 2 3 4 Total 174 72 11 22 33 36

Two small business areas lie parallel to Oakfield and the rail line, incorporating industrial and retail warehousing uses. The Secretary of State has recently granted planning permission for the London Development Agency’s regeneration Master Plan for the Crystal Palace Park involving a comprehensive scheme for the improvement of the Park including new park related buildings, a new regional sports centre and swimming pool; and up to 180 residential dwellings. In addition there are informal proposals for new sports facilities put forward by a major local football club.

Social Infrastructure

There are six GP surgeries in the area, (three of which are single GPs). There is a long established need for enhanced facilities in the area, which most existing surgeries operating from cramped facilities30. There is significant elderly accommodation in the area and St Christopher’s Hospice provides “End of Life” care across Bromley and neighbouring boroughs. Demand for primary school places has increased and the provision of school capacity in this area is complicated by the flow of pupils across borough boundaries. There is currently additional provision being made to meet pressure for reception places. There is one girls’ secondary school in the area and there is growing local desire for a mixed secondary school. Over 25 community venues exist including many church halls which provide important facilities, ‘outreach’ uses and resources for local communities. There are two libraries in Penge and Anerley, although across the Borough boundary Upper Norwood Library (in Crystal Palace) serves the wider Crystal Palace area. There are several very active local community groups33. There has been a significant loss of public houses over the past decade.

Connectivity

Crystal Palace has a very good provision of public transport. Frequent bus services provide good access to other areas within the borough and neighbouring boroughs including Central London. Some 14 bus routes run from the bus station (including a 24 hour service) and three night bus routes. Both Penge and Anerley are relatively well served by eight routes and a night bus. Crystal Palace, Penge West, Penge East and Anerley stations offer a range of routes to Victoria, London Bridge and East Croydon, as well as the new London Overground providing a link to East London. Birkbeck Station provides a rail link between Beckenham Junction and London Bridge. It is also connected to the Tramlink which provides links to East Croydon, New Addington and Wimbledon. Plans for the extension of the Tramlink to Crystal Palace are unlikely in the short term. The Mayor proposes a Cycle Superhighway Route from Penge to ‘The City’ via Elephant & Castle.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities arise from the identification in the draft The London Plan of Anerley and Penge as “Areas for Regeneration”?

What opportunities are there to provide enhanced provision for the community, in particular for young people, as well as modern healthcare facilities and facilities to meet demands for education?

What are the opportunities and challenges of coordinating plans and the provision of facilities and services shared across borough boundaries?

How much additional development is desirable or needed?

Is there a need to increase the amount of family housing and what are the opportunities for achieving this?

What can be done to address the issue of pressure on and access to local parks?

What is the future for Crystal Palace Park and how can this benefit the wider area?

How can the character of the area and the quality of the public realm be enhanced given the density of dwellings and significant on street parking?

What are the opportunities to improve the attraction of Penge town centre, and the quality of the pedestrian environment in the High Street?

Could diversification help to support the long stretches of shops along the main routes?

Can public transport links to Bromley Town Centre be improved?

What economic and other implications are there for a major football club establishing itself within Crystal Palace Park?

DARWIN AND GREEN BELT SETTLEMENTS

Character

This is the most southerly, the highest and most rural area in the Borough and in London. There is a rich legacy of historic and built heritage and a sense of tranquillity and remoteness. The character of the area reflects its topography and historic past. Dry chalk valleys run north through the area, separated by a plateau formed from clay with flints.

There are the remains of Neolithic flint making, Iron Age hill-forts at Holwood; Roman farms, villas and roads at Wickham Court and Downe. Mediaeval villages focused on their churches at Downe and Cudham. There are many Victorian gentry homes around Downe, including Down House and High Elms with its parks and gardens.

The historic village cores of Downe, Cudham and Nash are Conservation Areas whilst many historic farm and gentry houses are listed buildings. The diverse range of local materials used, which include flint, chalk, timber and tile, contributes to the character and texture. Residential development is clustered around the historic settlements and along and at the junctions of rural roads. Such development took place in the 19th and early 20th century and during the interwar period was supplemented by small scale social housing provision in and north of Downe Village and short stretches along Leaves Green Road, Cudham Lane North and Single Street. The growth was halted abruptly by the introduction of tight Green Belt controls in the mid 1950s. Since then development has been severely limited, but includes the conversion of the mansions at Cudham Hall and The Rookery, over 100 dwellings replacing former storage and office buildings on the Holwood Estate and a recently permitted residential development at the former Buckston Browne Research Farm.

The majority of dwellings in the area are detached houses or bungalows with off street parking and gardens (some with a paddock), although some residences in Downe do not have off street parking.

The area also includes the Keston Showman’s Ground, providing plots for Travelling Showpeople and a site with temporary permission for use by Gypsies and Travellers. The location next to the borough boundary means that residents generally access services, including health and education, in New Addington, Croydon. The area is also subject to occasional unauthorised encampments of Gypsies and Travellers.

Recreational open space at High Elms Country Park with its environmental and education centre and Hayes and Keston Commons are the main publicly accessible spaces together with small community orchards near Downe and recreation grounds in Cudham, Downe, Cudham Lane North (Green Street Green). There is an extensive but disjointed network of public rights of way with promoted circular walks.

Designated as Green Belt this is one of London’s richest areas for wildlife. Across the chalk downlands, heathland and ancient woodlands there are sites of Special Scientific Interest, Local Nature Reserves, Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation and part of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area around Downe, Cudham and Keston is a proposed World Heritage Site in recognition of Charles Darwin’s scientific observations supported by John Lubbock’s work at High Elms.

A proposal for 1,100 homes to be built at Fort Halstead in the adjacent borough of Sevenoaks was rejected in 2010. The Sevenoaks Core Strategy indicates that the site will be retained for business use unless it can be demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of continued use, in which case any redevelopment will be considered in light of Sevenoaks Core Strategy Policy and national guidance governing Major Developed Sites in the Green Belt.

Demography & Community

The area is sparsely populated generally with fewer children and young people than the Borough average. Residents appear to be in better health than other parts of the Borough9. Average household income for the area is similar to the Bromley average and the unemployment level is generally low. Along with Biggin Hill, this area has the fewest number of households without a car2.

Business and Employment

The long-established pattern of mixed farming in this part of the Borough is changing. Golf courses and smallholdings have been developed, there has also been an increased use of farmland for the keeping of horses, together with the forms of development associated with this use. More recently several farms, such as Keston Fruit Farm and Holwood Farm, have been sold as small plots with future development potential. In order to prevent physical subdivision and ad-hoc building taking place, Article 4 Directions have been applied to much of this land, requiring planning permission even for fencing, shelters and access routes. Farming, horse related uses and development, together with small holdings are the driving forces of the local economy but their future viability may be at risk without external funding.

This area has the highest proportion of residents in the Borough who work from home.

Visitors are able to enjoy walking, cycling and riding. There are a number of golf courses as well as several public houses. In Downe Village there are two distinctive attractions, Down House, the home of Charles Darwin and Christmas Tree Farm.

A tea room, restaurant and pubs in Downe Village cater for local residents as well as visitors. Other commercial activity is rare and limited to the reuse of redundant agricultural buildings such as the Holwood Dairy.

Social Infrastructure

There are two local primary schools in Downe and Cudham with a joint intake of less than 30 reception pupils. Other primary schools are located in Biggin Hill and along the suburban Green Belt fringe including in Keston, Farnborough and Green St Green. A former secondary school site is located in West Wickham on the Green Belt suburban fringe. The nearest secondary school is The Charles Darwin School in Biggin Hill. There are no GP’s in the villages but a number are available in nearby Biggin Hill, Green Street Green, Farnborough and Chelsfield or across the Borough boundaries in Tatsfield, Brasted & Sundridge.

The nearest supermarkets are located in Farnborough, Biggin Hill and Green Street Green. Proximity to local centres in adjoining boroughs means many residents identify with the rural towns of Knockholt and Sevenoaks than with the rest of the Borough. Planning permission was granted in 2010 for the conversion of a former barn to a farm shop at Holwood Farm, Keston. It is hoped that once the shop has been refurbished local residents will be able to use this local facility for basic essentials.

The Angas Home (former sailors’ convalescence home) is a locally listed building within the Cudham Conservation area. Formerly in use by the Primary Care Trust, it is now redundant.

There are several local churches and halls, (village and church halls) as well as a Scout camp (Downe Camp) and Guide camp (The Shaws, Cudham Lane North).

Connectivity

This area is served well with public transport relative to the very low number of homes. Leaves Green is served by 3 buses, whilst 2 routes serve Cudham, along Cudham Lane North and a further 2 serve Downe, although services on a Sunday are very limited16. There is no Railway Station, the nearest in the Borough being Orpington and Chelsfield Stations over 2 miles away. Drivers can take the country lanes north for the A21 red route. Leaves Green Road (A233) leads north to Bromley Town or south for Biggin Hill Airport and the M25. There are no cycle lanes in the area but there are off road routes for cycles and horse riders.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What are the trends in the rural economy and what opportunities are presented by redundant buildings in the Green Belt?

How can the area be managed effectively to fulfil its role as Bromley’s green lung offering access to recreation in the countryside?

Is there any scope to enhance the viability of the Green Belt villages and is there a role for tourism?

How can the issues relating to Gypsy and Traveller pitches be addressed and what are the implications for unauthorised encampments?

What challenges are presented by the subdivision and sale of farmland?

Are there opportunities to further protect and enhance Charles Darwin’s landscape (irrespective of World Heritage Site designation)?

EASTERN GREEN BELT

Character

This rural area is a remnant of a post medieval landscape sandwiched between the Cray Valley to the east, including St Mary Cray and St Paul’s Cray and the Darenth Valley including Swanley (Sevenoaks) to the west. Chalk soils lie to the south giving extensive views towards the north as the land slopes down towards rich farming soil and deposits of sand in the north. The current Borough boundary is defined by the 1,000 year old parish boundary and marked by significant individual trees, although the railway line and the A20 create significant physical barriers.

Chelsfield village is the only Green Belt village to the east of the Borough, with its’ station situated on the urban fringe. The village is therefore considered in a separate pen portrait, along with the other nearby Green Belt fringe areas of Pratts Bottom and Green Street Green.

Unlike the southern area of the Green Belt there are no distinct settlements over a great swathe of Green Belt to the east of the Borough. Instead farmhouses, workers cottages and smallholdings are scattered across the area along the rural roads. Many of the buildings are statutory or locally listed and the St Pauls Cray conservation area stretches into this Green Belt area. There are some recent mid 20th century houses at Hockenden and Kelvington and a single run of semi-detached houses along Old Maidstone Road. There are also several sites occupied by mobile homes and caravans, including a caravan park, moveable caravans at Hockenden Naturist Centre and two Gypsy and Travellers Sites, as well as occasional unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller encampments.

The rich soil is the best in the Borough for farming and is used to produce market gardening crops for London and the Borough. The area has been long-dominated by farming, although the orchards of last century, a source of employment for numerous travelling families, have been removed. Other uses of the countryside sprang up during the late 20th century including golf courses and sand extraction.

The operation of the European Common Agricultural Policy leaves an uncertain future for the local farming, which is further threatened by vandalism, property damage, dumping waste and attacks on livestock. In some cases land has been split into small holdings or plots. Waldens Farm was subdivided into plots, leading to the development of shelters and summerhouses fencing and access routes. The Council restricted development in this area by Article 4 Direction in the early 1970s, although since that time the site has been subject to various unauthorised encampments including gypsies & travellers.

The main recreational space is the recently re-landscaped St Paul’s Cray Country Park serving the nearby suburban population. Additionally, there are privately run recreation facilities at the Cray Valley Golf course, ski slope, paintballing in Ruxley Woods and at “Brocken Hurst”, the Naturists Centre at Hockenden.

There is a nature reserve at The Warren and a number of Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINCs) which are mainly ancient semi-natural woodlands for example Griffs and Well Wood. The landscape is characterised by many roadside hedgerows, which suffer in places from Dutch elm disease. The land drains to the west into the River Cray with occasional surface water flooding.

Demography & Community

The area is very sparsely populated but lies beside the residential areas of St Pauls Cray and St Mary Cray, parts of which have low levels or income, employment, education and health, and have been identified as an “Area for Regeneration” in the draft London Plan.

The Green Belt area includes the vast majority of the boroughs Gypsy & Traveller pitches on two sites at Star Lane and Old Maidstone Road (some 35 pitches in total). Gypsy and traveller families tend to be much larger than the general population, have the lowest educational results of any ethnic minority group (Ofsted) and the health and well-being of Gypsies and Travellers is the poorest of any ethnic minority group in the UK, with an average life expectancy 10 years less for men and 12 years less for women than the general population. The travelling community are closely linked to settled gypsy and travellers, living in houses in the adjacent Cray Valley residential area.

Business and Employment

With some of the most productive agricultural land in the Borough there is a significant market gardening and horticulture based local economy. Other commercial activity is clustered to the north of the area, along the old route west (Maidstone Road) and Sandy Lane, running under the A20. Open space commercial activity along the A20 is leisure and recreation based, including the dry ski slope, leisure centre and Ruxley Manor Garden Centre. Other activities are clearly related to the main road include car show rooms, breakers yards and a McDonald’s Restaurant.

To the north the area clips the Business Area at Edgington way, part of the Foots Cray Industrial Business Park (identified in the London Plan) which straddles Bexley and Bromley boroughs. No local parades exist in the Eastern Green Belt, however, a Tesco store lies on Edington Way.

Recent extraction of Thanet Sand at Bournewood is now at the stage of infilling and restoration, with further extraction having been recently refused.

Social Infrastructure

There is insufficient local population to support social infrastructure in this Green Belt area. Away from the A20 there are no shops or services. Schools and health facilities are available in St Paul’s Cray, St Mary Cray and Orpington, or across the Borough boundaries in Sidcup or Swanley (Bexley and Sevenoaks boroughs). Shopping needs are met outside the area with the large Tesco superstores to the north at Edgington Way and south east in Orpington and Asda and Somerfield in Swanley.

The Sea Cadets hall in Sandy Lane lies close to the Bexley boundary and is likely to draw membership from outside the Borough. As indicated above other leisure and social community facilities in the area tend to serve visitors to the Green Belt, rather than the small local population.

Connectivity

The area has very low levels of public transport due to the relatively few homes. Bus routes are concentrated in the neighbouring urban areas and to the far north with one bus route (233) running along Maidstone Rd and three others serving the nearby Tesco Superstore, Edgington Way.16 The rail line cuts across the area with nearest rail stations, by road, being St. Mary Cray or Swanley. The A20 red route, which is accessed via Crittals Corner, runs along the North of the area towards Lewisham or the nearby M25 for easy access to the national motorway network. There are no cycle lanes.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

How can the natural environment be protected and enhanced to improve the accessibility of this resource for people (health, enjoyment and mental well- being) and nature?

Could the area support regeneration measures for the adjoining residential “Area for Regeneration”, as defined in the draft London Plan?

Could the area provide further employment opportunities?

How can we balance the protection the Green Belt and sustainable farming land with other potential activities for recreation facilities, natural resources e.g. Thanet Sands, commercial farming and developments to support the green economy?

What opportunities are there to support the Green economy and does this present opportunities for the landscape be improved or enhanced (hedgerows and woodland management.)?

How can the particular issues relating to the travelling Gypsy and traveller community in this area be addressed?

HAYES

Character

Hayes is a mixed area comprising significant green space and suburban settlements. The largest part of the area was developed during the inter-war period around Hayes Village, a historic settlement dating back 800 years. The Village (Old Hayes) incorporates a number of historic buildings typical to a Kentish village. Listed buildings include the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Mary Cottages and Hayes Library (The Old Rectory). The Hayes Village area, is covered by conservation area status which includes some of the shops on Hayes Street. The housing comprises mainly semi-detached and detached family dwellings of a moderately low density with private gardens of a good size and off street parking. The Pickhurst Rise estate, to the west, includes four long avenues of inter-war terraced & semi-detached properties. Residential parking is mainly on street with some garages to the rear.

A substantial proportion of land is Green Belt resulting in an abundance of commons, playing fields and recreational grounds, such as Hayes Cricket Club. Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletics Club is located in the area and four allotment gardens are interspersed within housing.

The distinctive Hayesford Park estate includes houses and flats that won an architectural award when built by the Howard Family in the 1960s. It incorporates a range of shops & facilities.

The River Ravensbourne flows through the centre of Hayes passing through a series of culverts and therefore goes largely unseen.

Demography & Community

Home ownership is high. There are significant numbers of couples with dependant children and dwellings occupied solely by pensioners2. The population in Hayes is characterised by a higher than average percentage of over 65s and over 75s, however, there is a lower than average proportion of under 5s. Income and skill levels are similar to the borough average.

Business and Employment

The average household income for the area is close to that of the Borough average 36. There are almost 3,400 jobs based in the Hayes & Coney Hall area.

A significant number of residents travel to work in Central London by train. Croydon is also an important work place. The main shopping area is Station Approach, a busy high street area which has a good variety of independent shops and few vacant units. There are local shopping facilities in Chilham Way, Hayes Street and Letchworth Drive.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

Local No. of A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 No. of Other Parade units vacant units Chilham 7 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 Way, Hayes Hayes 21 15 0 2 0 0 4 0 Street, Hayes Letchworth 13 8 0 2 0 0 0 3 Drive, Hayes Total 41 25 0 4 0 1 6 5

Social Infrastructure

Within the locality there are three doctors’ surgeries, the nearest minor injuries unit is Beckenham Beacon. Hayes has a public library and 15 halls available to the community. These are generally purpose built or linked to places of worship. Although outside of the area, West Wickham Leisure Centre and Pool is easily accessible via public transport or on foot. There is good access to a number of primary schools and secondary schools in the local and surrounding area. It is also in close proximity to Bromley College of Further Education. Baston House School is an independent special school in the area.

Connectivity

Six bus routes serve the area, including a 24 hour service through Bromley Town Centre and onwards to Croydon16. Hayes serves as an important transport connector in the adjoining area of Coney Hall. Hayes Station is the terminus for trains on the Hayes line; it provides direct links to Charing Cross and Cannon Street. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) can be accessed via Lewisham. A London Cycle Network route runs across the North of the area from Croydon to Bromley South for further routes for cyclists travelling around the Borough.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

Is there a need for improvements to public transport links with other parts of the Borough?

What opportunities exist to improve services and facilities for the elderly?

Is there scope for increasing employment opportunities in Hayes Local Centre?

How can the problems of on-street parking in some residential roads be resolved?

KESTON

Character

There are three types of residential area that make up Keston: Keston Park and part of Farnborough Park, where there are very generously spaced detached houses in gated communities; north of Croydon Road is an interwar suburban area of mainly semi-detached houses; and the older Keston Village lies on Keston Common. These are interspersed with extensive stretches of open land all protected by the Green Belt designation and consequently there is good access to parkland and open countryside. The general public have occasional access to the listed Holwood Park which makes up the south of the area. Much of the open land is covered by Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation and Keston Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

There are three conservation areas locally: the Keston and Farnborough Park Conservation Areas have similar characteristics of openness and spaciousness. There is not one particular architectural style although there are examples from the Arts and Crafts movement. There has been great pressure for development in these areas and some of their open characteristics have been lost as a result. The Keston Village and Nash Conservation Area covers the historic village centre and nearby farm buildings. There is evidence of pre-Roman inhabitation in the area in the remains of a hill fort known as “Caesar’s Camp” in Holwood Park and Keston Common. Other historic features in Keston include a Windmill, the remains of the Wilberforce Oak, the site of a Roman villa and a Roman mausoleum. Holwood House, a grade I listed building, is on the site of the former home of William Pitt the Younger in Holwood Park.

Demography & Community

The majority of households in the area are either couples with dependant children or pensioners2. There are significantly low levels of deprivation for the majority of the area, the average household income that is close to that of the Borough average36. The largest proportion of the workforce consists of managers, professionals and skilled workers.

Business and Employment

Apart from the two pubs and retail units around Keston Common employment is limited with the majority of people commuting to other areas for work and business.

Keston does not have a clearly defined local centre; however, there are two pubs and some retail frontages and car showroom plus village store on Heathfield Road. Residents of the area are reliant on Locksbottom for much of their local shopping and services.

A Wyevale Garden Centre has been open since the 1980s and hires out tools and machinery as well as selling plants and shrubs.

Social Infrastructure

The Princess Royal Hospital is on the north east boundary with Locks Bottom. Facilities include an Accident and Emergency, cancer unit, eye centre and a maternity facility. Although there are not any doctor’s surgeries within the area, there are several surgeries in neighbouring areas such as Hayes.

Ravens Wood High School is a boy’s school with a mixed sixth form. Keston Church of England Primary School is located nearby.

Connectivity

The area is one of the least densely populated areas of the Borough, however, is still well connected to the surrounding areas with 7 bus routes. 16 There are limited bus routes in residential areas . Keston does not have a rail station, the nearest is Hayes Rail Station which is over a mile away. The B265 leads almost immediately to the A232 and A21 red routes for the rest of the Borough and M25. Cyclists are poorly catered for; the London Cycle Network is only accessible by a route, nearly a mile to the north via the roads, most of which are country lanes with no cycle path.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

Are there any opportunities to improve the connectivity of bus routes within residential areas?

What opportunities exist to improve cycle routes in the area?

Is there a need to protect local shops and facilities on Heathfield Road?

Is pressure for development eroding the special qualities of the Keston Park and Farnborough Park conservation areas?

MOTTINGHAM

Character

Mottingham stretches over the Borough boundary (Lewisham to the west and Greenwich to the east). The A20 is a significant barrier to movement to the north; it cuts off both Mottingham Station and Eltham Palace in the Borough of Greenwich.

The Bromley element of the area includes large areas of open space protected as Metropolitan Open Land. Mottingham Village (near to the War memorial) and the area around Mottingham Hall was established during the Victorian period, there are several listed buildings. Inter-war suburban housing spread from these centres, it includes two large former council housing estates, a predominate feature of the area. Mottingham contains around twice as much social rented accommodation as the Borough generally2.

The 1930s London County Council (LCC) Mottingham Estate, built as part of a London wide programme in response to the post World War I housing shortage, was built with shops and local facilities at its centre. Providing two storey family housing with private gardens it is similar in character to the adjoining LCC estates in Lewisham and Greenwich. The estates retain the original sense of scale and shared style. Social housing was again expanded in the 1960s with the high density, purely residential Geffreys Estate. These large scale social housing developments have produced distinct communities. Whilst there are areas of private, relatively spacious, inter-war semi-detached dwellings, the majority of Mottingham has been developed at high densities.

There are significant areas of open space linking across borough boundaries. As well as being designated MOL they fall within the Green Chain – a linked series of open spaces stretching across South East London. Highly valued areas of woodland supported by a local ‘Friends Group’. Mottingham Sports ground (with ball court) serves communities in two boroughs. The relatively new playground adjacent to the Geffrey’s Estate incorporated within the partial redevelopment of Widecombe Rd allotments.

Demography & Community

The average household income for the area is close to that of the Borough average 36. Mottingham has a relatively young population and a high proportion of single parent families2. It also has a higher than Borough average proportion of pensioners living alone and of residents with limiting long term illness than the Borough and London average2. Depression is more prevalent in Mottingham than elsewhere in the Borough35 and life expectancy has been consistently low9.

Mottingham, notably the social housing estates, exhibit high levels of unemployment, lower skills and qualifications and poorer health than many parts of the Borough. Parts of Mottingham, either side of the Mottingham Estate immediately across the boundary in both Lewisham and Greenwich, have been identified as “Areas for Regeneration” in the draft London Plan.

There are fewer residents in higher skilled jobs than Bromley generally2 and incomes are significantly lower than the Borough and London average. The unemployment rate is higher than the Borough average and is similar to that in inner London 31.

Business and Employment

There are almost 900 jobs based in the area 40. Mottingham Local Centre, which also serves the residential catchment in Greenwich, south of the A20 Sidcup Bypass, includes a basic range of small local shops and facilities, including a library, public house and places of worship. The local parade (Kimmeridge Cross) at the centre of the Mottingham Estate is thriving with no empty shops. It has a supermarket and a range of facilities such as the “Community and Learning Shop”, a recently refurbished community centre and place of worship.

There are no designated business areas although there is a garden centre and riding school. Other employment is limited to local centre activities.

Social Infrastructure

There are 3 primary schools and 1 infants’ school in the area.

The Links Medical Practice, Court Farm Road serves the Mottingham community, with the White Horse Hill surgery lying just to the south. There are a several surgeries in the neighbouring boroughs.

The nearest public leisure centre lies across the border in Greenwich at the Coldharbour Leisure Centre – this does not include a swimming pool, whilst the local Eric Liddle leisure facilities require membership.

There are active community groups (Community Forum, Residents Association etc) which have driven forward a number of local initiatives. The Community and Learning Shop is a valuable resource to local people 33.

Connectivity

The area is poorly served by public transport, with just 3 bus routes through Mottingham Village, only 2 of which pass through the Mottingham Estate. Whilst there are cross borough routes, destinations within the Borough are limited to Bromley Town Centre and Chislehurst and there is no direct bus route to the Princess Royal University Hospital. Mottingham Station lies outside the Borough in Greenwich, is cut off from the local centre by the A20 and offers no destinations within Bromley (running between London Bridge and Dartford). The A20 gives good access to the M25 and national road network.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities arise from the identification in the draft London Plan of parts of Mottingham as “Areas for Regeneration”?

What are the implications, and opportunities of services shared across boroughs?

How can the challenges presented by the high proportions of lone parents, pensioners living alone and people with limiting long term illness be addressed?

What opportunities are there to enhance access to health, employment, higher education & leisure?

How can the existing character be maintained and areas of poor environmental quality enhanced?

What is the potential to build on existing community engagement to address local issues, particularly relating to pensioners living alone and activities for young people?

ORPINGTON INCLUDING GODDINGTON AND KNOLL

Character

Evidence suggests the area has been inhabited since the Stone Age and there is significant evidence of Roman inhabitation. The Orpington Priory and Broomhill conservation areas are distinct areas which include examples of historic architecture. Buildings of interest include Crofton Roman Villa and Orpington Priory – a mediaeval building which now houses the Bromley Museum.

Small greens and school playing fields are located within built up areas, particularly in the west given the areas spacious character. Green Belt runs along the eastern boundary of the area, the majority of land used for agriculture; however, Goddington Park is open to the public. A pond forming the source of the River Cray is located in Priory Gardens, it flows north through St Mary Cray culverted for part of the way.

Orpington is a major town centre and suburban commuter town that developed after the arrival of the railway in 1868. The station serves the whole area and provides good links to central London and other parts of the borough. The Town Centre contains a variety of popular chain stores and independent retailers, the Walnuts Shopping Centre and Leisure Centre are located off the main High Street and a market is held in the square outside.

Improvements to public space in and around the High Street area were completed in 2010 at a cost of £2.2 million. The public realm improvements included improved pedestrian facilities including wider footways and narrower carriageways using high quality materials. The scheme was funded by TfL and Bromley’s Capital Improvement Programme.

Interwar sem-detached and detached houses with sizable private gardens are the most common type of home in Orpington. Over recent years there has been a rise in the number of flats built, for example at the Tesco development in Orpington town centre. Houses in Goddington tend to be larger; there is a more typically suburban appearance due to greater availability of open space.

Goddington is an area with mainly detached dwellings which surround Goddington Park, an outcrop of Green Belt. Goddington House, located on the north east corner of the park is a 19th century Grade II listed building. The house is thought to be the largest Arts and Crafts style house in the Borough and is open to the public. Pockets of residential development built after the Green Belt constraints were introduced are laid out at a higher density in a cul-de-sac style.

A phased redevelopment of the Ramsden Estate, which comprised mainly social housing, has created new homes with a series of improvements to public spaces, impacting positively on the general sense of wellbeing and general ownership33. The development has created more shared ownership schemes and homes for sale.

Demography & Community

The area has a higher than the Borough average percentage of pensioner only households and couples with non-dependant children. Although the are distinct variations throughout the area household income that is close to that of the Borough average36 with many households on the Ramsden Estate having lower income, employment, and educational qualifications.

Business and Employment

Orpington has a thriving town centre, and is designated as a Major Town Centre in the London Plan reflecting its wide range of shops, offices and other uses. There are over 270 shop units providing 61,622 sqm of retail floorspace, these include well known high street chains and independent shops, important to local residents and attracting people from a wider catchment area. The Walnuts Shopping Centre and Leisure Centre are just off the main High Street, and a market is held in the square outside the newly rebuilt Orpington College. Other major investment has taken place in the town centre with the 24 hr Tesco store and 73 flats, new community halls with housing, and a new library. Improvements to the High Street, including a reduced speed limit, new paving, pedestrian crossings and lighting create a safer and more attractive environment. These emerged from part of the Orpington Masterplan that was the subject of public consultation in 200838.

The town centre provides significant employment and as well as many small businesses as well as several of the boroughs largest employers. There are over 7,000 jobs based in the area31.

Diversity of retail uses in Orpington Town Centre38

No. of Floor space % of Total % of Total Retail Group units (sqm) (units) (units) NA Convenience (A1) 24 12,793 9% 9% Comparison (A1) 92 19,853 34% 34% Retail Services (A1) 46 5,686 17% 13% Services (A2) 36 5,704 13% 11% Leisure/community 46 10,414 17% 22% facilities Vacant (A1) 30 7,172 11% 11% TOTAL 274 61,622 100% 100% Note: NA refers to the National Average figures as measured by Experian Goad 2009

Several out-of-town retail parks are located along Sevenoaks Way, Court Road and Cray Avenue. The Nugent Shopping Park comprises popular high street stores.

Outside of the Town Centre Orpington has over 60 units within its five local parades. All are thriving with only Carlton Parade having 2 vacant units39. There are aloso two serviced offices, one on Gray’s Farm Road and the other on Cray Avenue.

Diversity of uses for local shopping parades38

No. of No. of Local Parade A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Other units vacant units Carlton Parade, 20 11 1 3 0 2 2 1 Orpington Court Rd, 10 7 0 1 0 1 0 1 Orpington Crofton Ln, 10 7 0 0 0 1 0 2 Orpington Eldred Drive, 12 7 1 0 0 1 3 0 Ramsden Fordwich Cl, 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Orpington Tile Farm Rd, 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 Orpington Total 62 41 2 4 0 5 5 5

Orpington benefits from close links to the M25 and has approximately 50,000sqm of office floorspace. Retail warehousing is an important element of the adjacent Cray Valley area with a several national retailers being located along the nearby Cray Avenue and Sevenoaks Way.

Social Infrastructure

The area includes four primary schools and a range of secondary schools, including, a mixed ability school, a selective school, and a school for boys with special educational needs. Orpington College of Further and Higher Education offers a range of courses such as GCSEs, basic skills and higher level vocational courses.

There are seven GP’s surgeries in Orpington running a series of clinics and offering a range of patient services, although some parts of the area score poorly with respect to health. Orpington Hospital offers a range of healthcare services such as general surgery, plastic surgery and orthopaedics. An important hospice site operated by Harris HospisCare is close to the hospital.

There are more than 20 community venues in the form of community halls, church halls or sports facilities. The Orpington Library is moving to new accommodation at the heart of the town centre close to the Walnuts Leisure Centre which includes two swimming pools, a gym and poolside health suite.

Connectivity

Orpington has very good public transport accessibility into and out of London and the South-coast. No fewer than 19 different bus routes travel through the town centre and around the area, including a night bus to and from Trafalgar Square and a regular service to the Bluewater shopping centre16. Orpington Rail Station runs services to most areas of the borough without a change, with trains into London (Charing Cross, Cannon Street, London Bridge, and Victoria), and a First Capital Direct Service runs through London to Kentish Town. Going south, the train services run to Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, and Ashford International. The Station is not very accessible for shoppers, being a 10 minute walk from the Town Centre and located on a hill. Cycle lanes follow Spur Road and the A224 alongside Goddington & Ramsden, leading North past St Mary Cray & St Pauls Cray. A London Cycle Network Route begins on Orpington High Street and leads up towards Bromley South and the rest of the Network.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

How can the occupancy and range of shops and services be retained and enhanced, in the face of competition from out-of-town shopping centres?

How can Orpington’s role as a town centre and employment focus be maintained and enhanced?

How can the presence of Orpington College and concentration of employers be used to provide greater opportunities for local residents?

Are the shops along the High Street too dispersed? Should the retail centre be redefined?

What opportunities are there to manage the pressures related to Orpington Station and the Town Centre in terms of congestion and car parking?

What can be done to maintain the feeling of openness in residential areas?

PETTS WOOD AND SURROUNDS

Character

Petts Wood developed during the late 1920s and 1930s, inspired by the Garden City movement. The area has several woods which are now managed by the National Trust. Petts Wood was planned with the railway station and shops at its centre, and the growth of a community with its churches, pub, sports clubs and societies. Unusually for a district centre, Petts Wood is split by the railway line, there are three main links to either side by means of two foot bridges and ground level vehicle access through Tudor Way. Station Square was laid out in 1928, the retail centre developed around the station where there are now a variety of small chain shops and independent retailers. There are a good variety of restaurants and two pubs which help to maintain a night time economy.

Development first began on the east side of Petts Wood and spread to the west side once the Station was established. The residential development in the east side is predominantly Neo-Tudor with many Arts and Crafts references. There are large detached houses on spacious plots, and semi- detached two-storey houses and some detached bungalows. The scale of the intact layout is recognised by the largest Area of Special Residential Character in the Borough, within which, the particularly fine examples of these styles can be found in the three Conservation Areas; Station Square, The Chenies and Chislehurst Road. The majority of dwellings have generous gardens to the rear and off street parking. The main development pressure comes from residential extensions and replacement houses which can alter the character and appearance of the locality.

In post-war years changes in retail opening hours and changing shopping habits have seen the loss of specialist shops that had given Petts Wood a “village” character.

Development in the West side of Petts Wood is less linear with narrower roads than the East and is characterised by long crescents. Development is much more closely spaced, there are some detached houses and clusters of bungalows however, the classic thirties semi predominates with front gardens used for off-street parking. Many chalet style semi-detached dwellings have had roof extensions and, as on the other side of Petts Wood, bungalows have been demolished or extended to create two-storey houses.

Poverest is located on the western boundary of the area and consists of mainly 1930s semi-detached houses surrounding Tillingbourne Green, a large recreational ground. There is also a primary school, church and allotment.

A large number of mature trees in private gardens give the area its wooded character. Tree Preservation Orders are applied to those which have a significant impact on its local surroundings. Petts Wood is bounded by open space such as Sparrow Wood, Jubilee Country Park in the West and Petts Wood itself to the East. There are a number of recreational grounds including Willets and Eynford Recreation Grounds. The Kyd Brook is a mostly culverted watercourse running through the area, there is some risk of flooding.

Demography & Community

There are low levels of deprivation9, compared with other areas of the Borough. Petts Wood has an average household income that is close to that of the Borough36. The largest percentage of workers are employed in professional and technical occupations2. A higher percentage of workers in the area tend to commute by rail or travel by car or van above other transport modes2. There are almost 2,500 jobs based in the area 40. The unemployment level is the lowest in the Borough; it also has one of the lowest levels of income support claimants.

The population is characterised by a higher than Borough average percentage of over 65s and over 75s9. The percentage of households that comprise couples with dependant children is higher than the Borough average2, although the percentage of under fives is lower.

Business and Employment

Petts Wood is defined as a District Centre in the Bromley Unitary Development Plan and contains a mix of retail and non-retail units. Out of 141 units 12 units are vacant (Goad 2011), the primary and secondary retail frontages (Queensway, Fairway, Station Sq, Petts Wood Road) contain 16 convenience units and 54 comparison goods stores, 59 service and 12 vacant units. The News Shopper headquarters are also based in the centre. Three supermarkets are located within Petts Wood; Morrisons, Iceland and Sainsbury’s Local on Station Square. There is one defined local parade within Petts Wood which contains 2 shops; one being vacant39.

Social Infrastructure

Approximately 20 community venues are located in the area; these include Memorial Hall and the library. There are also a number of annual open-air events held in the centre. There are two allotment sites in the area.

The Coppice Estate is a distinct area of family housing laid out with some shops and small greens. The Turpington Estate is on the western boundary of the area with Bromley Common, it is identified in the draft London Plan as a possible area for regeneration.

There are three GP’s surgeries; they offer a range of different services and clinics. The nearest A&E is the Princess Royal Hospital which has the only A&E department in the Borough.

A number of parks and playing fields give the area its spacious character; in particular Jubilee Country Park provides an important recreational area for a large part of the Borough.

There are five primary schools in the area and the Bromley Youth Music Trust is located within Southborough School. There are no secondary schools within the area; however, there are several schools in adjoining areas which serve children in the community.

There is a strong residents association.

Connectivity

The area is very well served by 6 bus routes, including the N47 night bus from Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross Station16. Petts Wood Railway Station provides services to London Charing Cross, Victoria, Cannon Street and London Bridge and is well connected to the rest of the Borough when travelling via Bromley South and Beckenham Junction where passengers can connect to the Tramlink. Roads in the Poverest area have easy connectivity to the A224 which in turn has easy access to the A21 via the M25. A controlled parking zone is located around Station Square, helping to alleviate parking pressure. A London Cycle Network Route runs roughly parallel to Petts Wood’s train line from Orpington Station and North East towards Bromley South and beyond.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

What opportunities exist to improve the traffic flow around Petts Wood Railway Station and how can parking be better managed?

How can the vitality of Petts Wood as a retail centre be supported and enhanced?

How can the development over time be managed to maintain the suburban residential character of the area?

How important is space to the side of dwellings and back gardens in retaining the character of Petts Wood and surrounds?

What are the implications of the growing number of cafes and restaurants?

RAVENSBOURNE, PLAISTOW AND SUNDRIDGE

Character

A mixed area of housing around the large area of open space (Sundridge Park Golf Course) and served by the local centres at Plaistow lane and Burnt Ash Lane.

Development before the First World War, had spread north from Bromley Town Centre along London Road and College Road and around Sundridge Park Station. At this time large detached Victorian Villas were built, to the west of London Road on the brow of the hill into Shortlands Valley, as well as narrower streets of tightly packed, terraced houses. Characteristic of that period, a parade of shops was built along Plaistow Lane near the station and small scale commercial workshops amongst the tighter residential development.

The Bromley North branch railway line runs north through the area with limited crossing points. Development west of the branch line is a complex mix of residential styles and ages. Wide avenues of large dwellings with substantial gardens were laid out between Burnt Ash Lane and London Road. Interwar development spread along Burnt Ash Lane. Where suburban semi-detached development did not include garages there is on street parking and many front gardens have been paved to accommodate cars. This early 20th century suburban growth also includes a development of three storey flats and a parade of local shops and facilities at Burnt Ash Lane. Subsequently, in the 1960s, a 12 storey block of flats was built adjacent to the parade, joined recently by a block of affordable flats.

The area includes the southern edge of the Downham estate, built by the London County Council (LCC) between the world wars to help alleviate a severe housing shortage in London. The estate is characterised by terraced cottages laid out with small gardens and no parking, leading to on street parking and paved front gardens to accommodate cars. Including a range of public open spaces it lies mostly in neighbouring Lewisham although some of the estate roads, primary school and Shaftesbury Park lie within Bromley.

Many of the pre war dwellings on large plots have been redeveloped for flats and cul-de-sac housing developments, and since the 1980s there has been a marked change in character west of London Road, around Oaklands Road and Grassmere Rd.

East of the railway line lies the Grade I Sundridge Park Mansion and golf course. There are two distinct residential areas next to the golf course: to the south (off Plaistow Lane) lie spacious roads of large detached dwellings of a range of styles and ages, the older pre WWI group being designated as Conservation Area. Towards the Borough boundary lies the “Hall’s Farm” estate. Comprising of interwar detached and semi-detached houses it is only accessible by a single road “New Street Hill” which runs under the railway line.

In addition to Sundridge Park golf course there are many open spaces, both public and private, including playing fields, parks, allotments, another golf course, three cemeteries and a covered reservoir?

Demography & Community

The area’s population is similar to the Bromley average in terms of age and education, housing styles, home ownership and density. There are a diverse range of incomes across the area, and the average household income is close to that of the Borough average36. Together they create an “average” picture; however, the residents in the areas of social housing and more densely developed areas around Burnt Ash Lane have particular pressures relating to income, education, employment and health. These areas share many characteristics with the rest of the Downham Estate, part of which, immediately over the borough boundary in Lewisham has been identified as an “Area for Regeneration” in the draft London Plan. The relatively high density of population in the area has continued to intensify in parts, particularly as a result of developments of flats.

Business and Employment

There are almost 3,300 jobs based in the area40. The employment opportunities in Bromley Town Centre and the Farwig Lane Business area are easily accessible, lying just south of the area. However, the area is predominantly residential, with employment opportunities limited to schools, Bromley Court Hotel, and the commercial activities around the two local parades.

The ward has two local parades. Both have a combined total of 53 units of which only two are vacant39.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

A3/A4/A5 No. of Local No. of A1 A2 (Restaurant /Pub/ vacant Other Parade units (Retail) (Financial) Takeaway) units Burnt Ash Ln, 27 14 2 6 0 5 Bromley Plaistow Ln, 26 16 1 4 2 3 Bromley

Burnt Ash Lane has a good range of shops and services (including a Waitrose, with car park, library, church, allotments & recreation ground). The local pub, however, was recently redeveloped for flats. There is also a large car dealership. Plaistow Lane, around Sundridge Park rail station has a range of 27 shops, including a pub & restaurants extending activity into the evening.

Social Infrastructure

There are three GP surgeries and several more just across the borough boundary in Lewisham. Two bus routes run to the Princess Royal University Hospital.

There are four primary schools and a further three in nearby Lewisham borough. Demand for primary places has increased Londonwide and pressure in this area is complicated by the flow of pupils between boroughs. Proposals are being developed to meet pressure for additional reception places on a temporary basis. There are no secondary schools in the area, Holy Trinity (private Catholic girls school) having recently closed, although Bromley secondary schools are accessible by bus and Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy lies just across the boundary in Lewisham.

Community facilities including a library are clustered in the area of the Burnt Ash Lane local shops. Other facilities, including churches, local primary schools and park pavilions are scattered across the area. During recent years residential development has replaced two community hall sites and a scout hut in the area of Shaftesbury Park on the Downham Estate.

Connectivity

The area has relatively weak public transport links with only 4 bus routes serving the area16, and while Sundridge Park Railway Station provides a link between Bromley North and Grove Park, passengers are required to change at Grove Park for connections south to Orpington or Sevenoaks. Northbound services run to Lewisham, London Bridge, Cannon Street and Charing Cross. West of Sundridge Park Golf Course lies the Charing Cross to Sevenoaks railway line, with Elmstead Woods Station serving the neighbouring Chislehurst area. Ravensbourne Station lies just to the west towards Shortlands. There are good connections to roads within the Borough and the national motorway network using the A2212 and A21 red route surrounding the residential areas. Much of the area is within easy walking or cycling distance of Bromley Town Centre and the London Cycle Network runs along the A21 to Bromley South and North towards Central London.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

Given the designation in the London Plan of part of the Downham Estate as an “Areas for Regeneration” are there opportunities to work with Lewisham to address issues of deprivation?

How can the distinctive residential character of the areas be best maintained and enhanced? In particular: • how important are the remaining Edwardian and Victorian buildings to the character of the area? • can pressure for intensification be accommodated without a further loss of attractive older buildings or should further losses be resisted? • how can the attractiveness of the interwar suburban areas best be retained or enhanced? • What are the implications of facilities and services shared across the borough boundary with Lewisham?

What approach can be taken to maximise access to the existing community facilities and should further losses be resisted, particularly in light of the pressures in relation to deprivation and increasing densities?

What contribution does the Bromley North - Grove Park branch line make to the area and can it be better utilised?

SHORTLANDS & PARK LANGLEY

Character

The area covers the slopes between the River Beck to the west and the River Ravensbourne in the east. Development before the First World War was prompted by the railway; it spread from Beckenham south around Wickham Road and east around Bromley Road (A222) towards Shortlands Village. Early Beckenham suburbs, which include a number of listed and locally listed buildings, are characterised by large Victorian villas north and south of the railway line and sloping down from St Mary’s Church, Shortlands to more tightly packed development, including smaller cottages and terraced housing in the Ravensbourne Valley around Shortlands Station. Development around Shortlands Station includes a range of houses & flats of various styles and ages, with local shops and services and a recreation ground at the heart of the community.

In contrast, the areas to the south, either side of Hayes Lane, were laid out after the First World War. These wide roads, which are almost exclusively residential, include the Langley Park estate and roads around South Hill Road. They were spaciously laid out with substantial detached and semi- detached dwellings, with large front and rear gardens and garages. On street parking is negligible.

The formally laid out interwar estates remain substantially unaltered except along Westmorland Road where there has been redevelopment for flats and smaller houses. By contrast the character of the pre First World War development that spread out from Beckenham has changed significantly. Having become a desirable commuter suburb, many of the larger properties in significant grounds were redeveloped at high density for flats, with parking and communal gardens, and tight cul-de-sac developments, particularly along The Avenue and Albemarle Road. This redevelopment of substantial properties and the conversion of others has resulted in a high population density with relatively little private space and the pressure for the redevelopment of the remaining older dwellings is likely to continue. Several areas of Edwardian and interwar development which are of particular style and character have been designated as Conservation Areas.

There are areas of open space to the south west and north east, comprising golf courses and sports grounds. Whilst properties generally have large private gardens, the majority of the area has limited access to public open space. Other than South Hill Park, public open spaces are located at the fringes; at Kelsey Park to the west and Shortlands recreation ground across the railway tracks.

Demography & Community

The residents are amongst the most affluent36 and well educated in the Borough2 with a higher proportion of residents in managerial, professional and technical jobs than elsewhere in the Borough. The area also fares relatively well in respect of health, although there are local variations between the area of flats to the north and the southern family housing area. In 2001 there was a higher proportion of pensioners living alone than elsewhere in the Borough, a relatively low proportion of children aged 0-4 and a high proportion of single person households2. The area has relatively low levels of crime10.

Business and Employment

Commercial activity within this area is limited to local retail centres and leisure (Park Langley Tennis Club & Golf Club).

Shortlands Village has over 40 shops with no vacancies. Whilst there are no major chains the area is close to Bromley Town Centre for major shopping needs. It also includes a library, pub, recreation ground and primary school. To the south, along Westmorland Road, there are some 20 local shops, including a pharmacy and a Tesco Express filling station.

Local shopping parades are limited to two locations at key junctions on main roads, at • Oakwood Parade (Bromley Road) which includes a pharmacy and evening activity with a pub, and several takeaways. • Wickham Road (beside The Chinese Garage) provides a small range of basic shops with no vacancies.

The former Glaxo Smith Kline research establishment was partially redeveloped in the 1990s for residential use and the Unicorn Primary School. The remaining laboratories, just out of the area into Eden Park, are now empty and are being marketed for development.

Social Infrastructure

There is one GP practice in the area and a number just outside the area in Bromley Town Centre, West Wickham and Hayes as well as the wider health services provided at the Beckenham Beacon.

There are a six education sites, all provide primary education, two are private and one, Bishop Challoner School, carries on to provide education up to 18yrs. Whilst there are increasing pressures in primary education across the Borough there are no plans to increase the rolls at any of these schools.

Community facilities are limited to Shortlands library, St Peter’s Hall and St Mary’s Church and the Park Langley Golf Course and Tennis Club, which provides social as well as sports opportunities for its membership. Much of the area has no public house or other evening leisure activities within reasonable walking distance. There is a strong residents association.

Connectivity

Accessibility in the area is low, there are three bus services; the 227, 367 and 358. Routes operate between Crystal Palace, Beckenham and Croydon through the area towards Shortlands and on to Bromley Town Centre. Beckenham Beacon and The Princess Royal University Hospital can be accessed on the 358 bus route. Trains from Shortlands Railway Station run to Beckenham, Catford and London. There are also services into Bromley South and into Kent. Bromley Road (A222) runs through the area leading east to the nearby A21 Red Route, and Pickhurst Lane leads south to the A232 Red Route. A cycle route runs along the railway line past Shortlands Station from Bromley Town Centre, through Crystal Palace and on to London. The proportion of residents who travel to work by car is higher than Bromley average in the southern residential area the travel to work by car from whilst the proportion of residents in the area to the north, with significant numbers of flats, is lower than the Bromley average.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

How can the distinctive character of the areas be best maintained? In particular:

• how can we preserve the remaining Edwardian and Victorian buildings in the area • how much additional development is desirable or needed? • can pressure for intensification be accommodated without a further loss of attractive older buildings? • how can the attractiveness of the interwar suburban areas best be retained?

Are there any implications for the community, particularly lone pensioners, of limited local opportunities for social interaction, particularly within the residential suburbs either side of Hayes Lane?

WEST WICKHAM & CONEY HALL

Character

The area owes its identity to the South London expansion of the 1920s and 30s which typically followed main roads and railway lines, although there is evidence of Roman settlement in the area. The area is predominately residential 3 and 4 bed roomed semi-detached and detached family accommodation with private gardens, many with off street parking.

West Wickham is set on a ridge and shares many characteristics with Coney Hall which lies in the valley to the south. Coney Hall has a distinct uniform suburban style projecting southwards into the Green Belt, comprising smaller semi-detached properties with off street parking and long gardens.

The area has good access to open space including recreation grounds, playing fields, Sites of Nature Conservation Interest and woodland. Much of the open space to the south is designated Green Belt, with designated Metropolitan Open Land to the north. To the west lies “The Beck” watercourse, limiting routes into Croydon. The valley between West Wickham and Coney Hall is at risk from flooding.

Demography & Community

There is a higher than average for Bromley proportion of households with children and pensioner households2, reflecting the narrow range of housing styles.

The area fares well in respect of levels of employment, health and education. The average income for the ward is slightly above the Borough average and unemployment rates are low2. Several smaller areas are amongst the most affluent 10% nationally.

Business and Employment

Whilst parking on the High Street is limited with Red Route status, two large car parks lie either side of the High Street supporting West Wickham in being a successful district shopping centre with few vacancies19 and a healthy range of facilities, including leisure centre, library, police base and public toilets.

Of the three local parades all have several vacant units but compared with the total number of units only 10% of the three parades are vacant20.

There are no designated employment areas and commuting is a key feature of the area.

Commercial activity in local shopping parades

Local Parade No. of A1 A2 A3/A4/A5 No. of Other units (Retail) (Financial) (Restaurants vacant /Pubs/ Takeaways units Addington Rd, 8 3 0 2 2 1 West Wickham Croydon Road, 45 30 2 8 4 1 Coney Hall Red Lodge 27 16 0 4 2 5 Road, West Wickham Total 80 49 2 14 8 7

Social Infrastructure

There are 20 community venues scattered through the area although these are mainly concentrated in or close to the retail centres21. There are 5 primary schools in or bordering the locality and 2 secondary schools. Demand for primary places has increased across the Borough and Londonwide and pressure in this area is also influenced by the flow of pupils across Borough boundaries. All Saints (formerly John Rigby Secondary school) closed in 2007. The specialist Nash College in Coney Hall caters for people with physical disabilities. There are 3 local GP surgeries.

Connectivity

The area generally is well connected by with other parts of the Borough and with Croydon Metropolitan Centre. West Wickham High Street is part of the A232 Red Route (linking Croydon and Orpington). This crosses the A2022 (to Purley) in the valley between West Wickham and Coney Hall. Whilst accessibility in the High Street is rated fairly low (2)16 both West Wickham and Coney Hall have 5 bus routes each, giving access to many local centres, both within the Borough and beyond and including a 24 hr service to Bromley and Croydon. West Wickham rail station, off the main High Street, provides links to Hayes and London & onwards to the Docklands Light Railway16. There is however an area of low public transport accessibility within the residential enclave, south of West Wickham High Street.

KEY ISSUES & MAIN OPPORTUNITIES

How can the suburban residential character of the area be maintained?

How the thriving nature of local centres be maintained in the light of changing trends in retailing?

What approach can be taken to maximise access to the existing community facilities?

What is the potential of the former All Saints/John Rigby school site?

Is there potential for more housing choice in West Wickham town centre?

What are the opportunities for improving public space and reducing street clutter along the High Street?

What are the implications of facilities and services shared across the Borough boundary?

Strategic Themes

Living in Bromley – Our Residents and Their Homes

Bromley’s population is estimated by the GLA to be about 302,400, rising from around 295,000 in the 2001 Census, and projected to increase to 315,700 by 2031. The majority of the population is concentrated in the northern half of the borough, the southern part being largely Green Belt land.

The population of Bromley has particular features as illustrated below in the 2001 Census, and the GLA 2010 projection population pyramids.

2001 Census

Unlike most of London there are significantly fewer people in their 20s and 30s and a clearly defined cohort of “baby boomers”, now reaching retirement age (60 – 64yrs). The population generally is older than the London average, with the number of people over 60 exceeding the number of children under 16. This older population more closely reflects the national picture, and as the number of people aged over 85 in Bromley grows there will be increasing pressures on provision for older people and the appropriateness of their accommodation53.

GLA 2010 Round SHLAA Projections - Using 2008 based CLG Household Projections

90 +

80 - 84

70 - 74

60 - 64

50 - 54

40 - 44

30 - 34

20 - 24

10 - 14

0 - 4

0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00%

London Bromley

2010 GLA Projections There are areas of the borough where there are higher proportions of younger age groups, more similar to the London population, notably to the northwest of the Borough and in the Cray Valley to the east. This raises needs for age specific supporting facilities and services.

Approximately 8,500 Bromley residents are vulnerable or disabled people receiving social care services and there are particular pressures (in respect of the need) to support more young disabled people reaching adulthood with significant care needs.

Bromley’s ethnic minorities accounted for 8.4% of the population in the 2001 Census, projected to have now increased to 12.6% and to reach 16% by 2031. The ethnic minority communities are generally geographically clustered to the north, specifically the northwest of the Borough, although there is a notable Chinese community in Orpington and the Cray Valley. Bromley has one of the largest communities of Gypsies and Travellers in England. Whilst there are two Council run traveller sites and a further site with temporary permission, the majority of Gypsies and Travellers (between 1,000 and 1,500 families) have been housed in properties in the Cray Valley. The health and well-being of Gypsies and Travellers is the poorest of any ethnic minority group, with average life expectancies between 10 and 12 years less for men and women respectively than the general Bromley population.

Bromley offers a range of housing types including semi-detached (the majority of Bromley’s properties) as well as blocks of flats, terraces and detached housing. Almost a third of households (31%) own their homes outright and almost half (44%) are buying their own home3.

With good access to London, high performing schools and a generally spacious and green suburban feel, Bromley is a highly desirable place to live. Housing affordability is a significant issue for many in Bromley, as it is across London, with the average house price in Bromley £318,395 at the end of 2010, compared to £408,538 for Greater London and £232,628 across the UK49. The Council has adopted guidance relating to affordable housing52 and a study is currently underway to assess the viability of providing differing levels of affordable housing within new developments.

Housing development in recent years (averaging at over 650 homes per annum over the last 5 yrs) has led to concerns about the changing character of the Borough’s residential areas. The capacity of the Borough to accommodate further growth depends on policies regarding Green Belt, Metropolitan Open Land, Urban Open Space, size, bulk and design of residential buildings and garden land. If existing policies on these issues are continued, then it is estimated that there is scope for around 470 dwellings per annum to be built in the next ten years, around 40% of which will be accommodated in Bromley Town Centre.

An assessment commissioned jointly with other south east London boroughs indicated that 18% of households in Greater London were unsuitably housed due to one or more factors such as major disrepair or overcrowding. The study indicated a lower figure of 13.9% of households unsuitably housed in Bromley6. The Government notes that “children in bad housing conditions are more likely to have long tem ill health, slow physical growth and delayed cognitive development”44.

The assessment also estimated what the future housing requirement might be, taking into account the formation of new households and migration patterns as well around 4,000 households currently experiencing a variety of housing difficulties. The identified future requirement far exceeds the estimated capacity of the Borough given the constraints identified above. Under such circumstances it is likely that not all the future housing requirement would be met in the Borough and some would not be met at all. This would have implications for housing conditions of the resident population.

Overall, household incomes are higher than both the London and national average. In 2009/10, 87% of working age men in Bromley were economically active, markedly higher than the London (82%) and national (83%) average. The figure for women, at 71%, more closely reflects the London (67%) and national (70%) picture47.

The level of basic education of Bromley residents is very good, with only 5.5% of residents of working age having no qualifications, compared with 12.1 % of Outer London residents and 12.6% nationally47. However, residents without qualifications are geographically clustered within parts of the borough which also have a number of other issues2. Bromley schools generally fare better than schools nationally with an average 65% of children in achieving 5 A-C grades at GCSE level, compared to the national average figure of 53.4%. The average results for children studying at A level is also higher than the national average48. In 2009 35% of working age Bromley residents were qualified to degree level or equivalent (NVQ level 4), between the national average of 30% and the London average of 40%47.

Access to private open space and public open space for recreation is a key characteristic of Outer London suburbs generally, and Bromley in particular, with clear physical and mental health benefits. Bromley’s population is relatively healthy with a higher life expectancy at birth (81.7 years) than the national average. There are however inequalities in health and well being between different population groups and geographical areas across the Borough and “health inequality” remains the major public health priority in Bromley9. The integration of planning, transport, housing, environmental and health systems is important to address the wider determinants of health42 and to enable the Council to fulfil its new health improvement functions46.

Whilst generally the quality of life is acknowledged to be of a high standard in Bromley, there a few places where poor health, low income, lower educational achievement and skills, higher crime and a poor quality living environment combine to produce significant problems. These areas are identified in the draft London Plan as “Areas for Regeneration”. In Bromley there is a correlation between these areas and areas with higher proportions of children. The Government recognises the “role of place” in its new approach to child poverty44 noting “the importance of going beyond income to consider the family, home environment, housing, early years, education and health”. There are also a number of areas identified which lie immediately across the borough boundary in the adjoining boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham and Croydon, which will have implications for neighbouring Bromley areas, notably Mottingham, with areas identified to the west in Lewisham and the east in Greenwich, and the Downham Estate, Lewisham which extends south into Bromley.

Statistically Bromley is a relatively safe place, with the 4th lowest crime rate in London. However there is a fear of crime and anti-social behaviour remains a key concern of Bromley’s residents. Not unexpectedly, crime rates vary across the borough with the highest concentration in Bromley Town Centre.

Strategic Issues

How can the Borough retain the distinctive character and quality of life it offers, which makes it such a desirable place to live and support the improvement of less attractive areas?

Where will new housing be best accommodated in the Borough and what supporting infrastructure is required?

How should the provision of housing reflect the varying needs of the Borough’s population in light of demographic changes?

How can we respond to the areas designated in the Draft London Plan as being in need of regeneration?

What are the implications of the ageing population for Bromley’s places?

What are the challenges for young people growing up in Bromley?

Are there opportunities to promote healthier lifestyles and improve health generally through the planning of development?

How can development influence the environment to reduce crime and anti- social behaviour and the fear of crime?

How can the particular issues of the Gypsy and Traveller community be addressed?

Our Valued Environments – Natural and Man-made

Tree lined roads and avenues, parks, gardens and woodlands are among the most distinctive features of Bromley’s suburban environment. Away from the built up area, more than half of the Borough is countryside including the North Downs where it is hard to believe that it is part of Greater London.

Before the railways, the market towns of Bromley and Orpington were surrounded by a cluster of rural villages and countryside. Railway development in Victorian times brought about suburban expansion around the stations, particularly Penge and Beckenham on the line to Bromley South. The character that has evolved ranges from the Victorian villas and terraced houses of Anerley and Penge, to the Edwardian suburbs of Beckenham through to the rapid suburban expansion of 1930s suburbia, with its distinctive avenues of mock Tudor houses with gardens, and suburban centres such as Petts Wood and West Wickham. Suburban growth was abruptly halted by the onset of war and prevented from further expansion thereafter by Green Belt controls. The developed outline of the Borough has remained fixed since that time, leading to increased densities in subsequent development.

The character of our main town centres has changed markedly as they have developed to meet modern retail and commercial demands. A key feature is how well contained they are and how a good residential environment is often found very close to the commercial centres – this is particularly true of Bromley and Orpington town centres. The Borough’s smaller centres and shopping parades are important to local character as they provide a distinctive identity to many localities. The nature of shops within the local parades has changed over time, with supermarket shopping becoming the norm. As traditional shops closed, shop units have been taken up by a diverse range of retailers and other uses. Shopping parades continue to play an important role within communities, providing local shops, services and employment for nearby residents, particularly those without the use of a car.

Investment in the public realm (i.e. footways, public spaces and roads including street furniture and pedestrian barriers) is important to the vitality of our shopping centres, not only in Bromley and Orpington but also the smaller centres and local shopping parades. Investment in Orpington has improved access for less mobile pedestrians and has improved the appearance of the shopping area. In other centres traffic dominates and there is too much clutter from barriers and signs.

There is a rich and varied heritage in the Borough ranging from medieval houses (Downe and St Mary Cray) through to the best examples of 1930s suburban development. Maintaining the quality of the built heritage in the face of continuing development pressures presents problems particularly in times of economic decline when the maintenance of historic buildings and structures is doubly difficult. In 2010, there were 26 listed buildings and other structures on the Heritage at Risk Register – consisting largely of buildings left vacant in a state of disrepair. They include the terraces at Crystal Palace Park and the vacant RAF buildings at West Camp, Biggin Hill.

Built heritage assets in the Borough include:

• 45 conservation areas varying in size and composition from villages (Cudham, Downe), town centres (Bromley and Orpington Town Centres) and suburban (The Chenies, Petts Wood; Elm Road, Beckenham) • 815 statutory listed buildings, including the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, the Keston Windmill and Down House (all Grade I) and The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace (Grade II*); • 2155 Locally Listed Buildings, including many Arts and Crafts style houses; • 5 parks included on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historical Interest; and • 7 Scheduled Ancient Monuments including the Iron Age fortifications at Holwood.

The history of settlement and land use is very visible in the countryside. There are the remains of Neolithic flint making, Iron Age hill-forts at Holwood; Roman farms, villas and roads at Wickham Court, medieval villages focused on their churches at Chelsfield, Downe and Cudham, post-medieval farms and gentry homes at Kevington, High Elms and Down House with their parks and gardens and 20th century disparate settlements such as Hazelwood and Single Street. The long-established mixed farming (of arable and grazing) has been under pressure with: rising land prices; an increasing use of land for keeping horses as former farms are sold for golf courses or the land split into small holdings and plotlands such as at Keston Fruit Farm and Holwood Farm.

Bromley contains a significant proportion of the Capital’s biodiversity and wildlife habitats particularly woodlands, grasslands, hedgerows and ponds and rivers. Parks, gardens, verges, small greens and even railways offer green connections that are used well by common and nationally protected species such as badgers, bats and newts. The connections form a notable part of the All London Green Grid which is being developed to provide a strategic interlinked network of high quality green infrastructure and open spaces that connect with town centres, public transport nodes, the countryside and residential areas.

The rolling North Downs act as the aquifer for the Rivers Ravensbourne and Cray as they run through the Borough and South London where the food risk is managed. The area has the capital’s largest network of public rights of way and access to the natural environment is recognised as important for recreation and health.

Natural heritage assets in the Borough include:

• Over half the Borough is designated Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land where there is a presumption against inappropriate development; also smaller parks and open spaces are designated as Urban Open Space where development is restricted • 6 Sites of Special Scientific Interest including Hayes and Keston Commons • 94 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, many of which are important to London, varying in size and composition from Cudham Valley to Bromley Palace Park • 5 Local Nature Reserves eg High Elms, Scadbury • London’s only part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty • An area around the former home of Charles Darwin which is on the 2011 UK tentative list of World Heritage Sites

Strategic Issues

How can we ensure that new development contributes positively to the built environment and that the individual characteristics of the Borough’s residential areas are not spoilt?

How can we retain the green and open character of the Borough whilst meeting increasing demands for sport and outdoor activity in the Green Belt and other open space?

How should we respond to the changes in land use arising from changes in farms and farming in the Green Belt?

How can we maintain and enhance the quality of the network of natural open spaces supports biodiversity throughout the Borough?

How can the environment, natural and man made, contribute to the quality of life and health of the Borough’s residents?

How can we best protect and promote the Borough’s built and natural heritage whilst enabling new development where it is needed?

Where should improvements to the public realm in our town centres and local shopping parades be targeted?

Supporting Communities – Facilities and Services

Health

The Princess Royal University Hospital (PRU) in Farnborough provides “acute” healthcare as part of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust “a single hospital on several sites” which also includes Orpington Hospital, as well as two other hospitals outside the Borough - Queen Mary's Sidcup and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich.

Bromley has nearly 50 GP surgeries, operating from a variety of premises, including converted houses in GP ownership, health centres, and the new Beckenham Beacon development. More than a third of GP surgeries are not compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, about half of which cannot be adapted to achieve compliance. There is considerable variation in the capacity of GP practices in Bromley, but GPs commonly work in smaller practices and with larger list sizes than the national average.

There is a drive nationally to bring 50% of outpatient and secondary care activity out of hospitals, including minor surgical procedures and treatments, into community primary care settings (e.g. General Practice, clinics and other appropriate community settings). There is a recognised need to develop the infrastructure of General Practice in order to support the development of out of hospital services, and improvements are currently focused on Bromley Common, Penge, Anerley, and central Orpington.

The management of health funding is also changing. Healthcare in Bromley is currently commissioned by the Bromley Primary Care Trust (NHS Bromley) and delivered by GPs and “Bromley Healthcare” which provides a wide range of community health services in a variety of settings including clinics and people's homes. However, over the next couple of years the Governments intention is for GP consortia to take responsibility for the commissioning of services. Public health commissioning responsibilities will fall within the Council’s remit. The various changes will present significant challenges for future health infrastructure provision.

The Council and Oxleas NHS Trust provide mental health services. Community Mental Health Teams are based in Penge, Bromley and Orpington. Inpatient care is provided at Green Parks House, Princess Royal University Hospital. The Bethlem (South London and Maudsley Trust) provides specialist mental health services, for people from across London, the South East and nationally.

Emergency Services

The London Ambulance Service has three ambulance stations in the Borough at Bromley, Crown Lane, Beckenham and St Paul’s Cray, and two just across the boundary in Croydon. As at February 2010 there are no requirements for additional provision in Bromley.

The Borough has four Fire Stations at Bromley, Beckenham, Orpington and Biggin Hill although fires may also be attended by six other nearby stations in neighbouring boroughs. There are issues regarding the suitability of the Fire Station buildings at Bromley and Biggin Hill.

Bromley Police station was built in 2003 and contains all of the boroughs custody cells. There are currently twenty-two Safer Neighbourhood Teams and two Safer Transport Teams in Bromley borough made up of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) and police officers and operating from 14 Safer Neighbourhood Offices located on high streets and in prominent locations to provide community focused policing. As part of the extensive modernisation programme Beckenham Police Station and Penge Police Station (London’s oldest police station) are no longer in use. The provision of appropriate police infrastructure is an issue for local communities, as is the future use of redundant police stations and other historic public buildings which are often listed or lie within conservation areas.

Early Years

Provision for pre-school children is found in a range of settings and is varied in nature. It includes pre-school/ playgroups, day nurseries, nursery provision in schools, children and family centres and childminders. The varied provision supports the development of young children, in particular developing social and emotional and communication skills. Parents and families can also benefit from the social interaction opportunities linked to Early Years provision and the broad choice of provision can support parent’s ability to work.

Early Years provision operates in a variety of venues, from purpose built nurseries, to local community venues (e.g. church, village and scout halls). Across the whole sector parents are able to access sessions or full time care, with provision available for all age groups from babies to rising five’s and these are generally run by volunteers. The availability of local community venues across the borough is particularly important to enable locally accessible services for pre-school children and their parents.

Day nurseries provide all day childcare and education for babies and pre- school children, enabling parents to work. Out of school childcare, for children up to 8 are usually based in or near schools and are run outside school hours (via a breakfast club, an after-school club or a holiday playscheme). The Council’s Childcare Sufficiency Report, which also looks at the availability of childminders, indicates where there are pressures on places. The 2011 update report is almost complete.

Schools

In Bromley there are 74 primary schools and 17 secondary schools, 4 special schools and, following a slight contraction in the private sector, 13 private schools providing primary, middle and secondary education.

The strategic planning of primary school places and school organisation in the Borough is currently addressed through the Primary Schools’ Development Plan. Increases in the birth rate since 2001 have fed through to create a significant increase in demand for primary places which will continue to grow through to at least 2013. Additional classes have recently been provided and the Council is working to ensure the provision of further additional forms of entry to meet this increased demand. There will be implications for education infrastructure as this enlarged cohort works its way through the educational system. The statutory age for education and training is increasing to 18+years by 2015 and enhancements are being made to secondary schools to meet this provision.

The landscape of educational provision is changing nationally as the Government is encouraging public sector schools to become Academies (publicly funded independent schools, free from local authority and national government control), and the development of new Free Schools, (all-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand.) A number of Bromley secondary schools have already converted to Academies and all are either actively seeking or considering seeking Academy status. Additionally a number of primary schools are seeking Academy status.

Adult, Higher and Further Education

Bromley College of Further and Higher Education and Orpington College of Further Education have recently consulted on a proposed merger. The colleges, whose two main sites have been recently upgraded, offer a range of courses and degrees, ranging from vocational courses for 14 - 16 yrs olds attending from local schools, to and Undergraduate Degrees (at Bromley College, in conjunction with the University of Greenwich). The colleges have also been campaigning jointly to promote apprenticeships. The role of the colleges in the future may be enhanced, the Government having indicated that students may be attracted away from universities to further education colleges offering courses at a lower price.

Bromley Adult Education College has three main centres across the Borough, at the Widmore Centre (Bromley), the Kentwood Centre (Penge) and the Poverest Centre, as well as running courses at a variety of community venues across the Borough. The college offers a wide range of accredited and non accredited courses where people can learn for pleasure, supporting community interaction, quality of life and thereby supporting health.

Support Services, Cultural and Social Activities

The residents of Bromley enjoy a varied range, cultural and social activities and support services delivered in local community settings.

A Council survey reveals a diverse range of around 350 community venues, including village halls, community centres, libraries and day care centres. Collectively the Churches are by far the most prolific providers of community space and are well distributed across the Borough. As well as leisure activities which add to people’s quality of life, such community venues can also deliver specific support to meet the needs of the population as it ages, and those of vulnerable and disabled people. The Government’s “Big Society” Strategy will rely on successful partnerships with the voluntary sector. Schools also provide significant community space, particularly in relation to their sports halls and facilities.

The Borough’s main cultural location is in Bromley Town Centre including the Bromley Central Library, the Churchill Theatre, cinema, leisure centre and Bromley Little Theatre. There are another 14 libraries spread across the Borough. There are also a further 10 Leisure centres or pools in the Borough, managed mostly by Charitable trusts or Social Enterprise (including Bromley Mytime), although there are also a number of private leisure clubs. There has been a recent addition to provision with the new Biggin Hill Memorial Library and Pool. Additionally there are some 60 sports pavilions across the Borough, the majority of which are private sports clubs. Many pavilions are made available for wider community activities providing a valuable resource. The Place Survey (2008) indicated satisfaction with sports and leisure facilities is at 51%, ahead of Outer London at 47%. Public Houses, of which there are some 160 across the Borough, provide an important opportunity for social interaction. The distribution is uneven, with unsurprisingly significant clusters in the major retail centres. There are some large residential areas with a limited range of facilities within walking distance.

Leisure and Recreation

Generally Bromley is well served in terms of playing fields and outdoor recreation facilities. This level of provision is a highly valued resource from a recreational, environmental and health perspective. There are over a hundred open spaces functioning as parks, ranging from large parks like Kelsey Park to smaller neighbourhood recreation grounds and amenity green spaces. These facilities are greatly valued, making Bromley a special place to live and many are supported by “Friends Groups”. However some parks lack the recommended quality of facilities and there are some areas outside the recommended 400m catchment for a local park.12

There are nearly 500 playing pitches of which over half are for community use. With the ratio of pitches to adults being 1:74 Bromley is well above the National ratio of 1:99. There are over 50 allotments in the Borough, although in some areas there are long waiting lists for a plot.

Play and Youth

There are over 60 play areas in Bromley, but significantly fewer youth facilities in parks. The need for increased provision for children and young people is a recurring theme in consultations with the public, both to support the life opportunities for children and families and to divert young people from anti- social behaviour51.

Strategic Issues

What challenges does the geographical spread of facilities present in ensuring accessible local provision of services and activities to support people’s quality of life?

How can community facilities be retained and improved, and how can new facilities, particularly for health be secured where they are needed?

How can the challenges presented by demographic changes, particularly in respect of children and the elderly, be met?

What are the land use implications of the changing nature of services and facilities, including schools, further education and provision for vulnerable and disabled adults and the elderly?

What are the implications for development, of limited access to recreational and community facilities in certain areas?

How can the opportunities for recreation and leisure be enhanced?

Getting Around – Transport and Accessibility

Bromley’s transport networks are related to the distribution of the population, with better access and choice in the more densely populated areas. There is generally good access to central London via the rail network (26 stations). There are five Tramlink stops, three of which interchange with surface rail, which provide links westwards towards Croydon. Bus services (61 routes) are relatively widespread, but access to public transport is still very limited in the rural areas. The London Travel Demand Survey shows that Bromley residents make a lot of journeys – second only to Barnet – and that their average journey length is the longest in London.

The north west of the Borough, lying closest to central London and the Borough’s main town centres have good transport links outside the Borough. There is scope, however, to improve orbital connections and to secure extensions of the Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink to the Borough.

By contrast, the rural nature of much of the south and east of the Borough means that public transport is limited. In these rural areas the availability of basic local facilities is more important and services in Kent are sometimes more accessible than those in the borough. Biggin Hill, located within the rural south of the Borough lies relatively close to, but unconnected to, the Tramlink, in New Addington, Croydon.

The main transport pressures in the Borough are: • Peak time traffic congestion associated with journeys to work and education; • High car dependency and high mobility amongst much of the population; • Relatively low public transport accessibility (particularly for orbital journeys); • Social exclusion amongst those without car access or unable to use public transport; • Low levels of walking and cycling; and • External impacts on the local economy (centralisation of shopping and services).

Bromley Town Centre, and to a lesser extent Orpington, Beckenham and Penge town centres have high public transport accessibility level (PTAL) ratings because they are hubs for bus (and tram) services and also have direct radial rail connections to central London. However, the choice of destinations, the opportunity for interchange, and the connectivity with other centres (except, to a degree, central London) is much less than is typically the case in inner and central London.

In the longer term, travel choice would be significantly enhanced by the extension of both Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway to serve Bromley Town Centre. The draft replacement London Plan, published in October 2009, includes among an indicative list of transport schemes, a southern extension of the Bakerloo Line to Hayes.

Car ownership in Bromley is high, and more than half the daily journeys people make are by car, resulting in road congestion at peak times. While many have the choice of private or public transport, there are parts of the Borough where public transport services are less attractive because services are further away or less frequent. There are also people who have no access to a car and must rely solely on public transport.

The Council will work with the transport operators to enable more public transport facilities, especially stations, to be fully accessible to people who are less mobile.

Compared to other London boroughs, Bromley has relatively low levels of walking and cycling. In addition to safety concerns, the borough’s outer rural terrain has been highlighted as a barrier against cycling because local facilities are further away. However, there is undoubtedly scope to increase the use of cycling and walking for shorter-distance trips to local facilities and shopping parades.

Many residential streets in the Borough are crowded with parked cars. Streets near to town centres and railway stations are particularly congested with shoppers’ and commuters’ cars. Many of these areas have on-street parking restrictions in place to protect residents’ parking and to manage the limited on-street space. Continuing pressures on parking mean that more on-street controls are likely to be needed in future. It will be important that new residential developments are carefully designed with sufficient space to avoid “car clutter” in the street scene.

National guidance (PPG13) says that levels of off-street parking should be set for broad classes of development and that parking should be used as part of a package of measures to promote sustainable transport choices and the efficient use of land. The vitality of the Borough’s town centres, however, will depend on getting the right level of parking provision and parking charges and on-street measures will need to complement land use policies as part of an overall approach to parking.

Whilst the current London Plan sets out maximum parking standards a more flexible approach to the provision of off street parking spaces may be required in some areas.

Bromley currently has two on-street car club spaces (at Bromley North and Orpington), secured through the planning process with free membership for residents of the associated development for the first year. The provision of further on-street spaces in the north of the borough is under active investigation. The Mayor’s transport strategy encourages the provision of publicly available charging points for electric vehicles, and it is likely that some new developments will be required to provide charging points. The Council’s focus will be to concentrate initially on providing charging points in its car parks situated in the main town centres of Bromley, Orpington, Beckenham, Penge and West Wickham.

Biggin Hill is identified in the draft London Plan as a possible Strategic Outer London Development Centre where there may be potential for employment growth significantly above the outer London trend. One barrier to realising this potential however is the poor road connections, in particular, the adequacy of public transport access to the area which lies well away from the Borough’s existing employment centres.

Strategic Issues

How can development be located so as to help reduce the need to travel, reduce road congestion and resolve parking difficulties?

How can public transport (access) to employment areas be improved?

How can the parking difficulties created by commuting and increased travel be managed to support town centres and the quality of life of the borough?

How can accessibility to town centres, business areas, facilities and services be improved to meet changing demands?

Working in Bromley – The Local Economy and Town Centres

Bromley’s economy is one of the largest in Outer London, with just over 13,000 businesses1 and an estimated 129,000 jobs2 - an economic scale similar to cities such as Reading and Stoke-on-Trent. The Borough has consistently had high levels of employment and a highly skilled workforce. Approximately two thirds of the jobs in the Borough are taken by local residents of Bromley and 55% of the local working population travel out of the Borough to work, the majority in Central London3. The Borough has its own business airport at Biggin Hill, which together with the adjoining business area attracts a cluster of aviation and high tech related enterprises.

A strong local economy is key to continuing prosperity in Bromley, underpinning the high quality of life which characterises the Borough. Business owners and managers appreciate the Borough’s excellent transport links, its readily available pool of skilled staff, low crime levels and green surroundings.

Business and Employment in the Borough

The major sectors of workforce based employment within the Borough are banking, finance and insurance (41%), distribution, hotels and restaurants (23%) and construction (13%). Public Administration, Education and Health (7%) and Manufacturing (4%) employ fewer people in the borough, but are nevertheless significant4.

There are over 5,300 workplaces in the Borough that operate in the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector, approximately 3,000 workplaces in the Distribution, Hotels and restaurants sector and over 1,500 workplaces in the construction sector. This reveals the scale and importance of businesses in the Borough5.

Change in Employment (workplace) by Industry 1998 – 20086:

% Change 1998 - 2008 Public Admin, Education & Health 63% Other Services 20% Banking, Finance & Insurance, etc 16% Construction -0.5% Transport & Communications -2% Energy & Water -6% Distribution, Hotels & Restaurants -8% Manufacturing -39% Agriculture & Fishing -46%

There has been a shift over the last 10-15 years towards more office based working which is reflected by the increases in employment in the Public Administration, Education and Health sector (63%), the Other Services sector (20%) and the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector (16%). Industry sectors that have seen a substantial decrease in employment in the last 10-15 years are Manufacturing (-39%) and Agriculture and Fishing (-46%). These changes reflect the national and London picture.

1 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 2 Figure for 2011, from GLA Working Paper 39: Borough employment projections to 2031 3 Census, 2001 4 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 5 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 6 Annual Business Inquiry - Employee Analysis, 1998-2008

Almost 90% of Bromley businesses have fewer than 10 employees7, although the small numbers of large and medium sized businesses provide the majority of employment within the Borough.

Percentage of Workplaces by Industry, 2008:

Industry Breakdown - Workplace Analysis 2008

Bromley Outer London London

50

45

40

35

30

% 25

20

15

10

5

0 Banking, finance & Distribution, hotels Construction Other services Public admin, Manufacturing Transport & insurance, etc & restaurants education & health communications

The Future

Employment in the borough is forecast to increase by 6% to 137,000 by 20318, from 129,000 in 2011; this increase is similar to the percentage change in many other outer London boroughs including the adjoining Boroughs of Croydon and Bexley.

The recession, structural changes in the broader economy, and the forecast continuing shift to office based employment, with a decline in manufacturing and warehousing impacts on business and work in Bromley. Where change will occur, and how Bromley can adapt and maintain a robust and diverse economy to withstand future recessions are key issues.

The Greater London Authority employment growth forecasts for London to 2031 show substantial increases in the Business Services, Hotels and Restaurants and the Other Services sectors. Employment in the Health and Education sector and the Retail sector are forecast to grow at a slower rate to 2031 and the Financial Services sector is expected to maintain a plateau. Employment in the Transport and Communications sector is forecast to decrease slowly; however, the Manufacturing sector is expected to decrease considerably to 20319.

There has been major investment in areas of Inner London, for instance the South Bank and Docklands and a recognised lack of investment in the Outer London Boroughs and

7 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 8 GLA Working Paper 39: Borough employment projections to 2031 9 GLA Economic Evidence Base to Support the London Plan, 2010 under performance compared to their economic potential (highlighted by the Mayor’s Outer London Commission in 2009 /10).

Business Areas/Profile

There are 11 designated business areas in Bromley, with the main areas concentrated in the three main town centres of Bromley, Orpington and Beckenham and the industrial estates at Penge/Anerley, Biggin Hill and the Cray Corridor. Bromley, Beckenham and Orpington offer a mix of small and large offices, which are home to small businesses and regional headquarters for multi-nationals. The Foots Cray Business Area and the industrial area of St Marys Cray are classified as ‘Industrial Business Parks’ in the London Plan. They vary in their accessibility, quality and age of premises and type of occupier. The challenge is to enable these to adapt to the changing needs of industry and commerce. Town centres are another focus for business and employment, with typically smaller business premises across the Borough. Approximately 40% of businesses are based in the main town centres or business areas.10

It is important to note that for various reasons under specific circumstances some employment land might be used for other purposes. As there is little data available to estimate future windfall losses, reference to historic losses has been made. The amount of employment land lost between 2004/05 and 2006/07 to non employment use is given below.

Employment Land Losses 2004/05 to 2006/07:

B1 B2 B8 Floorspace Floorspace Floorspace Land Equivalent Land Equivalent Land Equivalent (Ha) (sq m) (Ha) (sq m) (Ha) (sq m) 2004/05 0 0 0 0 0 0 2005/06 0.08 800 0.85 3,400 0.76 3,040 2006/07 0.54 5,400 0.1 400 0 0 Median 0.08 800 0.1 400 0.25 1,013

Taking the median loss of 2004-2007 and multiplying this by 20 years an estimated 44,200 m² of employment floorspace might be lost to other uses between 2006 and 202611.

There are some significant occupiers within the Borough including the Bank of America and RBS/Churchills Insurance. However, there have been few recent developments and the stock profile is dominated by ageing stock of questionable quality and appropriateness for use by dynamic emerging sectors. Wider office supply, predominantly in Beckenham and Orpington centres is of a distinctly secondary nature, with the majority smaller, above-retail space.

The availability of an appropriate and sufficient office floorspace supply within urban centres is generally recognised to be a pre-requisite of sustainable economic investment – and is often taken for granted by inward investors. The absence of such an offer is clearly therefore in this instance seen as a constraint to local economic prosperity within Bromley.

10 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 11 GVA Grimley, Economic Development and Employment Land Study, 2009 The industrial market within Bromley is less centralised – with areas of strength and opportunity linked to connectivity to the M25 motorway. On this basis Cray Avenue / Sevenoaks Way and its surrounding area is recognised to be a strong industrial location by property agents. A lack of quality industrial floorspace supply was identified by agents as being an issue when trying to attract quality occupiers to Bromley, with a specific issue in finding quality small and medium industrial premises within the borough12.

Residents at Work

Bromley has one of the highest levels of resident economic activity (78%13) and while unemployment in Bromley increased during the recession and remains at 2.7%, it continues to be significantly below the London figure of 4.1%14.

Bromley has a relatively skilled workforce with 35% of residents qualified to level NVQ4+, 52% qualified to level NVQ3 and higher and 72% qualified to level NVQ2 and higher. The Borough compares favourably to the Outer London and UK averages at all qualification levels and has a much lower percentage of people with no qualifications15. However, as demand is forecast for higher level skills (increasingly level 3, 4 and 5) Bromley will need to improve skills to remain competitive.

The average gross annual pay of those working within the Borough (£27,738)16 is significantly lower than the resident based average gross annual pay (£34,519)17, due to many residents commuting out of the Borough to work in Central London where wages tend to be higher. The average income varies across the Borough, particularly given the nature and location of employment, skill levels and occupation. Five wards in the Borough have historically had higher unemployment and lower incomes - Crystal Palace, Penge & Cator, Cray Valley East, Mottingham & Chislehurst North, and Cray Valley West.

Approximately 10% of Bromley’s working age (16-64 years old) residents are self employed which is 1% lower than the London average, but 1% higher than the UK average18.

Town Centres and Local Centres

Bromley’s network of town centres, local centres and shopping parades are important in providing a focus for local communities as well as for the provision of facilities and services. One of the most attractive aspects of the London Borough of Bromley is the choice of town centres, each with its own individual character. Larger towns provide the focus for comparison-shopping and leisure opportunities, such as cinema, theatre and sports, whilst smaller centres provide convenient local shopping and specialist goods.

12 GVA Grimley, Economic Development and Employment Land Study, 2009 13 ONS Annual Population Survey, 2010 14 ONS Claimant Count with rates and proportions, February 2011 15 ONS Annual Population Survey, 2009 16 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Workplace Analysis, 2010 17 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Resident Analysis, 2010 18 ONS Annual Population Survey, Oct 2009-Sep 2010 Map of Town Centres

Bromley Town Centre

Bromley Town Centre, designated as a Metropolitan Centre in the London Plan, is home to around 1,200 businesses and approximately 17,000 jobs19, bringing a great deal of economic vitality to this area of South London. A regular programme of events led by traders in partnership with the Council creates a vibrant, thriving town centre.

The Bromley Town Centre Area Action Plan (BAAP), adopted in 2010, was developed in recognition of the need for a framework and action for Bromley Town Centre to remain competitive. The Vision of the Plan is to promote and enhance Bromley's position as metropolitan town centre, making it a vibrant place where an increasing number of people want to live, work and shop, and to ensure that high quality design-led development contributes positively to Bromley's attractiveness as a commercial, cultural and residential town.

Orpington Town Centre

The second largest town in the Borough (with around 400 businesses and over 5,000 jobs20), is designated a Major Centre in the London Plan, offers an excellent choice of cafes, restaurants and pubs, and is well placed being close to the M25 and a short journey to central London by train. Recent improvements include new planting, street furniture and lighting and improved CCTV camera coverage linked to a shop radio system. Regular events take place and the town also hosts regular markets and craft fairs.

19 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008 20 Annual Business Inquiry - Workplace Analysis, 2008

District Centres

District Centres cater for local communities having a number of national multiples. Bromley has four district centres across the borough – Beckenham, West Wickham, Penge and Petts Wood, and also Crystal Palace towards the Borough boundary.

Beckenham is the third largest town within the Borough and is important for its evening economy. The town is an interchange for bus, trains and trams, adding to its attraction as an accessible and appealing place to visit from surrounding areas.

Beckenham has an urban village feel, making it unique compared to other nearby towns. Following Council led improvements this area has hosted events which in turn increase the footfall and create a vibrant and thriving feel to the town.

West Wickham High Street has a good mix of chain stores (including four supermarkets) and independent shops as well as pubs and restaurants which can be found on the High Street and Station Road.

Penge High Street has many independent shops as well as several discount stores.

Petts Wood is divided by the railway line; one side being Queensway and the other Station Square. Each side has a pub, and both sides have supermarkets, independent shops, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, and financial services.

In addition, Crystal Palace is identified as a District Centre by Croydon and Lambeth Councils as it straddles Borough boundaries. The Crystal Palace Triangle formed by Westow Street, Westow Hill and Church Road, has a large number of restaurants and several independent shops, as well as an indoor market on Haynes Lane.

Smaller Parades

The main function of local parades is to meet the day-to-day needs of local residents, especially those who are less mobile. The 2010 Local Parades survey identified 73 local neighbourhood parades in the Borough and a total of 1334 units. 743 of the 1334 units are shops (A1 retail) which show how relied upon local shops are by local residents whilst 150 (11%) of the units are vacant.

Top six parades with the highest vacancy levels:

Name of parade Vacancy rate High Street, Penge 31% Addington Road, West Wickham 28% Church Road, Crystal Palace 28% Newlands Park, Penge (1) 28% Newlands Park, Penge (2) 28% Edgehill Hill, Chislehurst 27%

The nature of many local parades is changing with the loss of some traditional shops. An increase in services, restaurants and takeaways can be seen in many areas.

The five parades where there are a greater number of units for services, restaurants and other uses excluding retail shops are set out below:

Name of parade Non-A1 frequency Masons Hill, Bromley 14 out of 25 (56%) The Pantiles, Biggin Hill 9/16 (56%) Windsor Drive, Chelsfield 12/22 (54.5%) Homesdale Road, Bromley 10/19 (52.6%) High St, St Mary Cray 12/23 (52%)

Biggin Hill

Biggin Hill is identified as a Strategic Outer London Development Centre in the London Plan with its cluster of high technology and avionic related businesses. The Airport and surrounding business estates provide particular supply chain and high skill employment opportunities. The area includes the underused and historically important West Camp site which could enhance economic opportunities.

Strategic Issues

What does the continuing shift to office based employment mean for the economy, and in particular, town centres and business areas?

What are the employment and business opportunities for Biggin Hill as a Strategic Outer London Development Centre, while protecting the environment and quality of life?

How can we encourage a range of high quality premises in appropriate locations to support a diversity of business uses?

How can we make sure Bromley Town Centre maintains and improves its position over time?

How can Orpington continue to improve and be promoted to enable it to compete as a major town centre?

How do we retain an adequate supply of local and community shops and essential services across the Borough and what can be done to support local shopping centres and parades to remain viable?

How do we make sure the Borough remains competitive relative to London and the South East?

Climate Change and Environmental Considerations – Meeting Future Challenges

Introduction

All local authorities are encouraged to look at whether their local situation demands a unique response to climate change: for instance, what is the potential for lower carbon heat and power and are more stringent local standards needed? Bromley uses the policies set out in the London Plan to guide new development towards more sustainable design and construction. For example, large developments are required to submit information about how they will improve energy efficiency, reduce the need for heat and power, reduce water use and include renewable energy generation where feasible. In addition, the Environment Agency 54 considers that Bromley has one of the highest ecological and carbon footprints in London and the primary contributor is housing.

Climate Change Mitigation

There are national, regional and local targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. However, Bromley faces a number of significant challenges and in 2008 produced ~1.5Mt CO2 comprising domestic emissions at 789kt; transport emissions at 337kt and commercial emissions at 373kt. Per capita emissions are 4.9t – with 2.6t coming from domestic properties. The table shows Bromley is a relatively high emitter both domestically and overall.

LA Region Year Per capita - Per capita - Per capita - Per capita - Name Industry Domestic Road Total and Transport Commercial

Bromley 2005 1.3 2.6 1.2 5.1 Bromley 2006 1.4 2.6 1.2 5.2 Bromley 2007 1.2 2.6 1.2 5 Bromley 2008 1.2 2.6 1.1 4.9 London Av 2008 2.7 2.2 1.1 5.9 National Av 2008 2.9 2.4 1.7 7

Any new development must reach increasingly higher standards under the Building Regulations and there may be additional standards or features which are needed in certain locations or by certain kinds of activity.

Energy Efficiency

There are two distinct issues relating to energy efficiency: how best to deal with existing property and how best to deal with new developments. Domestic property contributes 47% of Bromley’s CO2 emissions (2006). One major challenge is that 51% of the borough’s housing is pre-1945 and, therefore, ‘hard-to-treat’: 17% of housing dates from pre-1919 and an additional 34% of housing dates from 1919-1945. This housing is likely to have solid wall construction, with larger rooms, higher ceilings and larger windows. As a result, Bromley has relatively high domestic CO2 emissions.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy from the sun, wind, air or ground provides an important way of helping increase low carbon energy supplies and energy security, even in a suburban location such as Bromley. Many households have already installed technology on their houses and flats to produce electricity or hot water and financial incentives from the Government (Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)), and alterations in permitted development appear to be increasing this trend. Solar panels to heat water have been the most popular choice until recently but photovoltaic cells producing electricity are becoming more popular. In many domestic situations these can be applied without planning permission although there are still controls on size and location to minimise impacts. Of course, there are many buildings where the retrofitting of such technology is not possible and there are also limitations in Conservation Areas and on and around Listed Buildings.

New major developments in Bromley are required to make a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a benchmark standard, and this is achieved through a combination of design, energy efficiency measures and on-site renewable energy technology. Bromley uses the London Plan 55 policies to encourage at least a 20% reduction in CO2 from the renewables element, where this is feasible. In practice, some developments can achieve more than 20%, others less, but it is rare that no contribution can be made and positive improvements over the basic Building Regulation standards are being secured. Forthcoming amendments to Building Regulations intend to set a carbon reduction target for a development overall but the draft London Plan 1 still expects a contribution to be made from renewable energy.

Applications for stand-alone energy producing technology are still very few, although there is increasing interest since the introduction of financial incentives. The continuation of these schemes – which pay the owner for the renewably-produced electricity to be fed into the grid – may result in more enquiries about siting large-scale technology on buildings or land in the Borough, should it prove to be financially viable.

Adaptation to Climate Change

Some places, activities and groups of people are more vulnerable than others to changes in weather and climate. Even though Bromley is not a place of extreme environments, climate change will still have impacts. Areas at risk from flooding may increase; older people and those with certain conditions may suffer greater health problems in periods of very hot or cold weather. Biodiversity can be compromised especially where species are unable to move between habitats as their conditions change. Shortages of water and power may occur when they are in greater demand and if ageing infrastructure begins to fail. Ways of adapting to climate change can also help improve our local environment and reduce waste and use of precious resources. Improving the efficiency of processes and reducing waste is good for the economy as well as the environment, and improving the condition of homes can positively improve health and reduce utility bills.

Waste Reduction

The Southeast London Boroughs’ Joint Waste Apportionment Technical Paper (2010) was produced by the London Boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark and identifies 12 waste sites within the sub region, including 3 currently operational sites within Bromley. The government’s Municipal Waste Management Statistics (2009/10) show that Bromley produced 151,301 tonnes municipal waste in 2009/10 – of which 132,194 was household waste. 53,140 tonnes of household waste was sent for recycling. Bromley produces relatively large amounts of waste per household: 587kg. However, 40% of household waste was sent for reuse, recycling or composting and the new (2010) kitchen waste collection service may be expected to increase this figure. The landfill tax, scarcity of landfill sites, and recycling targets mean that there will be increasing pressure to reduce waste arisings and make better use of the waste which is produced. The Draft London Plan’s aim is for zero waste to landfill sites by 2031.

Water Resources & Flooding

Bromley’s rivers (Ravensbourne, Cray and Pool) are covered by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) which is designed to protect and enhance their quality and that of streams and groundwater www.environment- agency.gov.uk/wfd . Water pollution does not tend to be a major issue in Bromley (there was one major water pollution incident reported between 2005 and 2009). In terms of water resources, all of Bromley is within the Thames water region where average consumption in 2009/10 was 167 litres per person per day. The government’s target is to reduce this to 130 litres per person per day by 2030.

Flooding from rivers is rare/infrequent within the Borough but some developed areas are vulnerable to surface water flooding as a result of storm water flows heading towards the river network Environment Agency 54. Increasing the capacity in storm water drainage networks is impractical and prohibitively expensive, the run-off, therefore needs to be reduced by the introduction and retro fitting of SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems). Attenuation of storm flows to reduce flash flooding could also lead to greater uptake of rainwater harvesting and a reduction in mains supply consumption.

Strategic Issues

• Are higher local sustainable design and construction standards needed to reduce the environmental impact of development in Bromley? • What standards should be applied to new development to ensure that they will still be adequate in the medium to long term? • What are the implications of greater uptake of local renewable energy generation for Bromley? • Should local standards be set for the level of renewable energy generation associated with larger developments? • How will Bromley continue to move towards “zero waste” 1 economy and increase its self sufficiency in dealing with the waste it produces? • How can the development control process help to reduce water consumption given the increasing pressure on this precious resource? • How can the Flooding and Water Act 2010 and Bromley’s new role as a Lead Local Flood Authority be integrated into the development process?

Beyond the Borough Boundary

Bromley, as an Outer London Borough, has a varied range of neighbouring boroughs, with London boroughs to the north and west and the substantially rural boroughs of Tandridge in Surrey and Sevenoaks in Kent to the South and South East.

Bromley

Bromley’s London borough neighbours have mixed characters. Croydon, Greenwich and Bexley all displaying many of the suburban characteristics common across much of Bromley and Outer London, although towards the north west with increasing proximity to central London the character of both Bromley and its neighbours becomes increasingly more urban.

Much of the south and east of Bromley lies within the London Green Belt surrounding the capital and runs across the boundaries with Croydon and Bexley and stretches south and east into Surrey (Tandridge District) and Kent (Sevenoaks District). The Green Chain comprises a series of open spaces in various ownerships, extending from Thamesmead southwards and westwards through the London boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley, Bromley and Lewisham.

People access shops, recreation and leisure activities and services which best suit their needs and desires. Borough boundaries are therefore irrelevant in respect of many retail and leisure destination decisions, as well as community facilities and essential services, such as health and education. Whilst some destinations will have Londonwide or national catchments, others may draw from a small local area. Where these catchments (large or small), cross borough boundaries, there will be implications for local authorities, commercial activities and service providers. Current demand for primary places has increased Londonwide and pressure is particularly noticeable in the northwest of Bromley and neighbouring authorities. Responding to this increased need for places is complicated by the flow of pupils across borough boundaries. Over the Core Strategy plan period pressures for particular services will ebb and flow and it will be important for neighbouring authorities to understand the nature of demands both within and across their borders.

Major Proposals and Key Sites

Neighbouring boroughs have either adopted or are working towards submission of their Core Strategies. Key sites or proposals in neighbouring boroughs which are of relevance to Bromley include:

Town Centre Growth. There are significant growth proposals around neighbouring Metropolitan and other town centres • Croydon Metropolitan Centre - 12,300 homes and 30,000 – 95,000sqm of new and refurbished office floorspace. (Croydon Draft Core Strategy Pre-Submission document April 2011) • Lewisham Town Centre (including “Lewisham Gateway” strategic allocation) 2,600 new homes, 40,000 sq.m of additional retail floor space and 4,300 sq.m of additional leisure floorspace (Lewisham Core Strategy adoption anticipated June 2011) • Catford Town Centre proposals for 22,000 sq.m of additional retail floorspace and 1,100 new homes by 2026 in Lewisham’s Core Strategy. • Sevenoaks Town Centre - 1,330 dwellings and 4,000 sq. metres net of new shopping floorspace up to 2026 (Sevenoaks Core Strategy Feb 2011) • Swanley - Sevenoaks Core Strategy indicates proposals coming through in a future allocations document. • Crystal Palace centre straddles borough boundaries, including Bromley. The draft London Plan and both Croydon and Lambeth also identify it as a “district centre” and it is identified as an Enterprise Centre in Croydon’s draft Core Strategy.

Commercial and Residential Regeneration • Foots Cray – The draft London Plan identifies the Foots Cray Business Area as an “Industrial Business Park” straddling Bromley and Bexley. Bexley’s Core Strategy (Proposed Submission document Nov 2010) encourages new office facilities, and, where possible, the modernisation of existing facilities in what it identifies as the Foots Cray “primary employment location” • Downham and Mottingham residential estates - The draft London Plan (2009) identifies some areas of regeneration adjacent to Bromley in the neighbouring boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Croydon. Notably, the housing estates in the areas of Downham and Mottingham. • Kidbrook - the Lewisham Core Strategy identifies the redevelopment of this estate (4,800 residential units) • Fort Halstead – Sevenoaks Core Strategy (Feb 2011) identifies this 41ha Major Developed Site in the Green Belt as retained for business use, unless it can be demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of continued use.

Strategic Issues

What are the opportunities and challenges of coordinating plans and the provision of facilities and services shared across borough boundaries?

What opportunities arise from the identification in the draft London Plan of “Area for Regeneration”, within and adjacent to Bromley?

What scope is there for policy collaboration or joint working in key cross borough areas, notably: • Crystal Palace? • Foots Cray Industrial Business Park? • Downham and Mottingham?

Background information and references

Background

A new planning system

In 2004 the Government introduced a new local planning regime in England which signalled a shift from land use planning to spatial planning. At this time, The London Borough of Bromley was at an advanced stage with the development of its Unitary Development Plan (UDP) so it continued towards adoption in 2006. Since then, the UDP has been used along with the London Plan and national policy to guide development and determine planning applications. Having already produced three lower level documents in the new system, the Borough is now preparing the highest level planning document – the Core Strategy.

Spatial planning is a process of place shaping and delivery which incorporates the wider strategy of the Council and local partnerships, bringing together the needs of many different services which require land to operate. It is delivered at the local level through a Local Development Framework (LDF) rather than a UDP. The LDF is still influenced by, and used in combination with the London Plan [link] and national planning policy and its key policy documents still require independent examination. As they are adopted, the documents in the LDF will replace the UDP as the local plan for Bromley.

The Local Development Framework

It is helpful to think of the LDF as a container for other documents rather than a document itself – a kind of folder or drawer. Instead of one large volume like the UDP, there are several smaller documents in the LDF which are quicker to produce and revise.

Development Plan Documents (DPDs) Administrative documents Supplementary Planning Documents

As the diagram above shows, there are three types of document that make up an LDF:

Development Plan Documents (DPDs) contain policy, can allocate sites and are subject to independent examination for “soundness”. The Core Strategy is the top level DPD.

Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) cannot set new policies, allocate land or contradict the strategy set above them, but they can be very useful, quick-to-produce documents that give extra detail, advice and guidance.

Administrative documents for showing the timetable, monitoring arrangements and consultation arrangements – these are:

• The Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) shows how policies have been implemented and whether they have been successful. [link] • The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the strategy for communicating about planning issues SCI • The Local Development Scheme (LDS) sets out which LDF documents will be produced and the timetable for their development [link]

Sustainability Appraisal

All Development Plan Documents in the LDF are required to have a Sustainability Appraisal. This is a process of testing to see what the impacts of the plan are likely to be on the environment, the population and the economy. The Appraisal should be made at an early opportunity on the developing strategy and policies, and repeated up until the final plan, pointing out where there may be negative impacts and suggesting changes that could be made to improve the outcome. A Sustainability Appraisal report must accompany any document that is submitted for examination.

Bromley’s Local Development Framework

Bromley’s LDF is influenced by the Community Strategy “Building a Better Bromley” [link] which sets out the Borough’s priorities, future challenges and implications for services provision. Apart from the three management documents (SCI, AMR and LDS) it is envisaged that Bromley’s LDF will contain:

• A Core Strategy, • DPDs on Site Allocations and Development Management • A proposals map showing any land designations and sites for development • The Area Action Plan for Bromley Town Centre • SPDs – currently Planning Obligations and Affordable Housing

Adopted LDF documents

Although Bromley still uses its UDP to determine planning applications, it has also begun to develop some of the new documents that sit in the LDF.

Supplementary Planning Documents Bromley has produced two SPD’s – Affordable Housing (2008) Affordable Housing SPD and Planning Obligations (2010) Planning Obligations SPD These expand upon policies in the UDP and therefore will be need to be updated once new policies develop in the LDF.

Area Action Plan for Bromley Town Centre

The Area Action Plan (AAP) for Bromley Town Centre was the first of the “new style” policy documents to be produced in Bromley and was adopted in October 2010 Bromley AAP. The AAP is a type of DPD which allocates sites for development in Bromley Town Centre and sets out the policies by which planning applications in this area will be considered. The Core Strategy

This consultation is the first stage in developing Bromley’s Core Strategy. This will be the highest level plan in the LDF, setting the broad amount and location of development in the Borough over the next 15-20 years. All the other LDF documents come under the Core Strategy – they might expand upon its policies, provide detail or draw together policies for particular areas. A Core Strategy may allocate specific sites for development, where these are essential to achieving the vision, otherwise sites may be set out in other DPDs.

A Core Strategy should contain:

• a brief description of the essential characteristics of the area • the critical problems and challenges facing the area – the issues • a vision for the area stating what it should be like in the future • the strategies which will help achieve the spatial vision • the core policies which contain the activities and actions to deliver the strategy • delivery mechanisms and measures for monitoring the strategy.

The process of developing the Strategy

There will be 3 main stages in producing Bromley’s Core Strategy.

Evidence and Developing and Publication and

Issues testing options examination

Evidence and issues

In order to make sure the final strategy is fit for purpose and robust, the process begins with researching the current state of the Borough, its people and places. This information is updated and reviewed as the strategy is developed to make sure it is as relevant as possible. The evidence base helps to highlight the Borough’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities and may reveal some potential impacts of current trends.

Bromley’s Core Strategy development is at this first stage and this document is the first time that the information and issues have been presented to the public. This period of consultation provides an opportunity for anyone with an interest in the area to consider the information on which the strategy is being based and see the issues that are arising from it. Following this first period of consultation, any responses will be considered and taken into account in the further development of the plan.

Developing and testing options

Once the issues to be addressed have been identified, ways of tackling them need to be developed, bearing in mind an overall vision for the Borough. There will usually be a number of choices or options available, and these need to be tested in a range of ways - for their sustainability (through the Sustainability Appraisal), their impact on key groups (through an Equality Impact Assessment) and their deliverability. A key element of developing and choosing options is the views of people who may be affected, so this is another key stage for public consultation. After further consultation, the most suitable “preferred approach” can be drawn up. This may be revised and further consultation might be needed if evidence changes, in which case a previously rejected option might become a more feasible alternative.

Publication and examination

When the most appropriate strategy has been agreed, a Draft Core Strategy can be published for consultation. The Draft plan is circulated widely for comments on “soundness” rather than the detail as in previous consultations.

There are three soundness tests. The plan must be:

• justified; founded on a robust and credible evidence base, and the most appropriate strategy when considered against the reasonable alternatives • effective; deliverable, flexible and monitored • consistent with national policy (and in general conformity with the London Plan)

If this last consultation reveals no major problems, the plan can be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination. An Inspector will consider the soundness of the plan and check that all legal and statutory procedures have been undertaken. The Inspector will issue a report stating whether or not the plan is sound, and making suggestions for changes. The Local Authority may then revise the plan accordingly and adopt the Core Strategy.

Infrastructure Delivery Plan

Running alongside the Core Strategy is the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP). This will show what the current and future needs of the Borough are in terms of a wide range of supporting services and development including transport, health and education, energy and community facilities. An IDP can help facilitate more efficient forms of public service delivery, provide a sound evidence base for planning obligations, a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and any funding bids. Further information on CIL can be found at the Planning Advisory Service website here. Currently, research is underway to identify the current infrastructure needs of the Borough, and as the Strategy develops, the IDP will take on board any likely future needs that it produces. Neighbourhood Plans

At the time of writing, The Localism Bill introduced to Parliament in 2010 does not propose to remove the need to produce an LDF, but it does introduce a new layer of bottom-up planning in the form of the Neighbourhood Plan. Though details still remain to be formalised, the idea is that a “neighbourhood forum” would apply to the Local Authority to develop a plan for a small area, perhaps with a certain site or theme in mind. Rather like the SPDs, a Neighbourhood Plan cannot contradict the policy under which it sits so it is important that communities are involved in the development of the Core Strategy and other DPDs as these documents are where the key decisions will be made. Information about the latest on Neighbourhood Plans can be found here.

Further information

More information about producing local plans can be viewed online at the Planning Portal here

Information on “soundness” can be viewed here

How to respond to this consultation

Contact details

Online consultation portal: XXXXXXXXXXX

Email: XXXXXX

Postal address: XXXXXX

Please send your comments by XXXX

If you need the document in a particular language or format, please let us know GLOSSARY

Term Definition The Act The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Acute Healthcare Health care in which a patient is treated for a brief but severe episode of illness, or involve intensive or emergency care. This pattern of care is often necessary for only a short time, usually in hospital. Affordable Housing Includes social rented or intermediate housing provided by a Registered Provider that is affordable to households that are unable to rent or buy on the open market. Area Action Plan A policy document setting out the planning (AAP) framework for areas with a concentration of proposals for change and areas of conservation, AAP’s have DPD status. Article 4 Direction A direction under the Town & Country Planning Order 1995 removing specified Permitted Development Rights under that order from a defined area. Backland Development of land surrounded by existing development properties, often using back gardens and creating a new vehicular access. Biodiversity A variety of plants and animals and other living things in an area. Encompassing habitat diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity. Core Strategy Sets out the long-term spatial vision for the local planning authority area, strategic objectives, and strategic policies to deliver that vision. The Core Strategy will have the status of a Development Plan Document. Comparison goods Durable goods which are not purchased frequently and involve the customer comparing items store to store. Conservation Area An area of special architectural or historical importance the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance and where consent is required to demolish a building or part of a building. Day to day needs Those items that are purchased from shops on a regular basis or provide an important service to the customer, such as a Post Office or bank. Development Plan Spatial planning documents that are subject to Documents (DPD) independent examination. District Centre A large suburban Centre with a broad range of facilities and services which fulfills a function as a focus for the community and public transport. Greater London The strategic authority for London, which assumed Authority (GLA) its main responsibilities in July 2000. Green Belt Open land encircling London in which development is strictly controlled, which gives definition to the built up area and limits urban sprawl. Green Chain Area of linked but separate open spaces and the footpaths between them, accessible to the public, providing way-marked paths and pedestrian and cycle routes. Gypsy and These are sites providing caravan pitches either for Travellers’ sites settled occupation, temporary stopping places, or transit sites. Local Development The collective term in the Act for Development Plan Documents (LDDs) Documents, Supplementary Planning Documents, and the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). Local Development The name of the portfolio of LDDs. Framework (LDF) Consisting of: • Development Plan Documents • Supplementary Documents • Statement of Community Involvement • Local Development Scheme • Annual Monitoring Report Together these documents provide the framework for delivering spatial planning strategy for a local authority area. Local Development Sets out the programme for the preparation of LDDs. Scheme (LDS) London Plan – Spatial The Mayor for London has a duty to prepare a Development Strategy number of city-wide strategies, including a Spatial for Greater London Development Strategy (The London Plan). The Consolidated with Alterations since 2004 London Plan sets out the social, economic and (Feb 2008). environmental framework for the future development of London looking forward 15-20 years. The current document (2008) is under review, and a draft (2009) has been examined in public (June-Dec 2010) with a replacement London Plan expected in July 2011. Major Centre Generally contain over 50,000 sq.m of retail floorspace with a relatively high proportion of comparison goods relative to convenience goods. May also have significant employment, leisure, service and civic functions. Metropolitan Centre Serves a wide catchment area, with good accessibility and significant employment, service and leisure functions. Contains at least 100,000 sq.m of retail floorspace with a significant proportion of comparison goods relative to convenience goods. Metropolitan Open Open land generally located within the urban area Land and considered to be of strategic importance to London as a whole. Planning Policy Government advice on various planning policy Statements (PPSs) matters issued from time to time to guide Local Planning Authorities in their operation of the planning system. Public realm This is the space between buildings and within buildings that is publicly accessible. Including streets, squares, forecourts, parks and open spaces. Strategic Housing An assessment of land availability for housing which Land Availability informs the Boroughs local development documents, (SHLA) as set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3). Strategic Housing An assessment of housing need and demand which Market Assessment informs Borough Local development documents as (SHMAA) set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3). Site of specific Sites notified to the Local Planning Authority by Scientific interest English Nature under Section 28 of the Wildlife and (SSSI) Countryside Act 1981 as being of national importance by reason of any of their flora, fauna, geology, or physiological features. Supported housing Homes in which vulnerable residents are offered a range of housing related support services to enable them to live independently. Sustainability An appraisal of the economic environmental and Appraisal social effects of a plan from the outset of the preparation process to allow decisions to be made that accord with sustainable development. Sustainable Development that meets the needs of the present development without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable urban An alternative approach from the traditional ways of drainage systems runoff from buildings and hardstanding. They can (SUDS) reduce the total amount, flow and rate surface that runs directly to rivers through stormwater systems. Unitary Development A legal document required under the provisions of Plan the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which sets out the land-use policy framework used to determine applications do planning permission. Policies will in due course be superseded by policies in the LDF. Urban Open Space Open space in an urban area which is considered to (UOS) be of local significance.

REFERENCES

1 The consultation draft London Plan (Oct 2009) 2 Census 2001 (inc ONS Neighbourhood Statistics and “Making Sense of Bromley”) 3 GLA statistics (inc Focus on London 2010) 4 Bromley Household Survey (2009) 5 Residential Character Assessment (underway) 6 Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) 7 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) 2009 8 UDP Proposals Map 9 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 10 Indices of Deprivation 11 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (level 1) 2009 12 PMP Open space study & strategy 2010 13 Environment Agency data 14 Thames Water 15 Bromley Local Implementation Plan 16 Transport for London 17 GVA Grimley study 2009 18 DTZ study 2004, Bromley Town Centre Update 19 GOAD maps & data 20 Local Centre Health Checks 21 Community infrastructure data (draft Infrastructure Development Plan) 22 Children & Young People’s Plan 2011-14 Needs Analysis 2010 23 Primary School’s Development Plan 24 Strategy for Capital Investment in Secondary Schools (Update 7 Sept 2010) 25 NHS Bromley Commissioning Strategic Plan 2008 – 2015 26 NOMIS / People Claiming Jobseekers Allowance (Sept 2007) 27 Gypsy and Traveller Health and Education Needs Assessment 28 Rapid Health Needs Appraisal for Mottingham, Penge, Crystal Palace, Anerley and The Crays and Ramsden Estate (Dec 2008 JSNA) 29 Neighbourhood Statistics Resident Population Estimates by Broad Age Band, Mid 2009 30 “Strategic Service development Plan for LIFT in Bexley, Bromley & Greenwich” (2002) and subsequent draft health documents 31 NOMIS / People Claiming Jobseekers Allowance (Sept 2007) 32 Gypsy and Traveller Health and Education Needs Assessment 33 Rapid Health Needs Appraisal for Mottingham, Penge, Crystal Palace, Anerley and The Crays and Ramsden Estate (Dec 2008 JSNA) 34 AAP 35 Primary Healthcare Data 36 CACI Paycheck Data 2011 37 Local Data Company data 2011 38 DTZ Orpington Health Check 2011 39 Local Parades Monitoring Report 2010 40 Business Register & Employment Survey 2009 41 Town Centre Manager data 42 The Marmot Review “Fair Society, Healthy Lives” (2010) 43 National Strategy for Housing an Ageing Society “Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods” (2008) 44 “A New Approach to Child Poverty: Tackling the Causes of Disadvantage and Transforming Families’ lives” (DWP 2011) 45 ‘Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation’, (1999 Public Health White Paper) 46 “Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS” (DoH 2010) 47 Annual Population Survey 48 Department for Education (2010 results) 49 Land Registry of England and Wales, 50 Report of the Directors of Public Health 2010 “Happy and Healthy” 51 'Our borough, our future Let's Talk' – Bromley public consultation 2010 52 Affordable Housing SPD 2010 53 Bromley Adult and Community Services Portfolio Plan 2011/2012 (draft) 54 Bromley Borough: Environment Summary (Environment Agency 2010) 55 London Plan Consolidated with Alterations since 2004 (February 2008)