Sale of Beckenham Public Halls and Community House Confirmed

Last night (20 September) the Executive Committee of Bromley Council voted to sell Community House and Beckenham Public Halls to the highest bidders, refusing to take into account any community or social value that may have been provided by the various bidders. The reasoning given is that the Council needed every single penny to avoid bankruptcy in a few years. We'll be able to share the details of the successful bids as the sales proceed, but it is a sad to witness the final steps in the loss of these much loved and valued heritage buildings to the community.

Cllr Chloe-Jane Ross attended the meeting and appealed to the committee members (all Conservatives) that any continued community use promised by any bidder should be taken into account together with the financial value when deciding which bid to accept, an approach that the Conservative Committee have adopted on other sales. Sadly the committee members decided to ignore this request. Chloe talks about her feelings on the outcome here 

Ironically in the same meeting the Committee agreed to increase the budget for fitting out the new Council Offices at Churchill Court by an eye-watering £4 million more than the original estimate. We continue to support the move to the new offices because of the improved conditions for the staff and the long term saving in maintenance and running costs, but we are very concerned at just how much extra is being committed to this project.