John Lewis - Consultation on Development at Bromley South

John Lewis presented slightly revised plans for consultation with Bromley Residents at the Central Library on 14th and 17th June. 

They're proposing to build tower blocks housing 353 flats, all of which will be rental homes and will be managed and furnished by John Lewis Partnership themselves. There will be improvements to the space around the store, with a new public piazza and increased landscaping and tree planting. They hope the Waitrose store will stay open during the construction, but accept there's a possibility it may have to close - if this happens they will relocate it to another site in Bromley Town Centre.

JLP propose to offer 20% of the habitable space as affordable housing (although this is still subject to a lot of consultation). The development comprises 2 large towers, with smaller blocks referred to as "shoulders" and "link buildings". The Northern building is 24 storeys, the Southern building is 19 storeys.

Initial feedback from the people we spoke to on the day and from those who have filled in our survey is that there's a lot they like but there is opposition to the height and massing of the buildings.

We agree. There's a lot to welcome - we desperately need new homes in Bromley, and long term rental properties would be a good addition to the range of housing available in the borough. (Although we would like to see more than 20% at affordable rent). The homes will be sustainable and low energy, and improvements to the public realm in what is currently a rather unloved-looking part of Bromley would be good news.

But the proposed towers are too high, and the development itself is too big. Perigon Heights (the green building in the photo) is currently the highest building in the area, the John Lewis proposal is 7 storeys higher. Not only would this bring far too many people into an area where public services are already massively overstretched it would set a precedent for further - and perhaps even taller - huge tower blocks in Bromley Town centre. "They're turning us into Croydon" were words we heard a lot during the consultation. 

You can see full details of their proposal at the project website - https://www.waitrosebromley.com/