1 Westmoreland Road - Planning Permission Refused

Planning permission for the proposed development of this important site has been refused by Bromley Council, with reasons including the inappropriate size, overdevelopment of the site and the lack of affordable units

1 Westmoreland Road is opposite the new Civic Centre, at the top of Westmoreland Road at the junction with Masons Hill. Previously a government office building, it is a site that has had several planning proposals refused or withdrawn over the last 10 years, including a proposal for a high rise school and a hotel. In 2018 it housed the year 7 pupils of Bullers Wood for Boys school while their permanent site was built at Chislehurst Road, and has also been a temporary home for a Harris academy before their move to Shortlands. 

This latest proposal was for a building of 12 storeys, with 122 flats for sale and 1,500 sq.m. of office space. The outcome document lists the various reasons for refusal, the key points being:

• The combined height, scale and massing would be “incongruous, overbearing and unneighbourly”.
• There was a lack of sufficient affordable housing (there is a requirement for 35% in Bromley unless the developer can justify less, under financial viability conditions). 
• There were insufficient wheelchair accessible flats (there should be 10%).
• The internal layout of some apartments was poor - they would have been single aspect, internal daylight and ventilation may have been compromised at times, plus there were concerns about privacy and noise, on what is a very busy junction. 
• An unacceptably high risk of flooding over the potential lifespan of the property, due the presence of the culverted River Ravensbourne under the development site.

The Liberal Democrat Councillors for Bromley Town have expressed disappointment that yet another opportunity to build much needed housing or community assets on this key site at the heart of Bromley Town has been lost. They consulted widely with local residents, feeding back to the developers the views of local residents who were most likely to be affected. However, as the development process progressed it became clear that the developers’ proposals - edited and amended many times - would result in poor quality housing that would seriously impact the privacy and quality of life of residents on nearby roads, that was inappropriate for the area in terms of height and design, and wouldn’t provide the housing that we need in Bromley with a lack of affordable units and with the units themselves being of minimum habitable size.

Julie Ireland, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bromley Town, commented:

“We are now left with a landmark site that is in very poor condition, surrounded with hoardings and more years of uncertainty, as we wait to hear the developers’ plans for the site, whether they intend to appeal, produce new plans or sell. We’ll be having urgent meetings with the Planning team at Bromley Council to discuss the options for this important site.”