Bromley & district · Local news you can trust
Citygate Church, which owns the Grade II Odeon, says the cinema closes in December and plans a church. Have your say by 13 October; the drop-in is 10 October.
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Planning
Milk Street Nursery Asks to Keep 42 Children, Not 18
The Lighthouse Nursery at Halls Farm House has applied to keep a capacity of 42 children against a planning limit of 18. Comments close 14 October. Ofsted's record is here too.
Down House
Down House in Winter: Weekends Only From 2 November
Darwin's Down House opens weekends only, 10am to 4pm, from 2 November, plus 27 and 28 Dec, New Year's Day and February half term. Adults £17 online.
Community
Bromley Veterans' Evening Meet: Next at Crown & Anchor 21 Oct
Bromley FC Community Trust has launched a monthly evening meet for veterans at the Crown & Anchor on Park Road, with the council. The next one is Wednesday 21 October.
Charity
Bromley Rugby Clubs on 60-Club Charity Ride: £5,170 Raised
Rob Shotton cycled to 60 London rugby clubs towing a water butt for LooseHeadz and raised £5,170 against a £4,000 target. Three Bromley clubs were on the route.
What's On
What's On in Bromley This Weekend, 25 to 27 September
Bat walk among the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, Sunday cyclo-cross, a nearly-new baby sale in Orpington, and Sunday rail closures at Beckenham Junction to plan around.
Food hygiene
Bromley Food Hygiene: 34 Fives in September, Nothing Lower
Every rating published for Bromley since 3 September is a 5: 34 venues, from the Crooked Billet in Penge to Sainsbury's in Orpington. The last low score was on 4 August.
Business
New in Bromley Business: 20 Firms Formed, 3 in Liquidation
A day nursery, a mortgage broker on East Street and three software firms are among 20 companies registered in Bromley in a fortnight. A builder and a flooring shop are being wound up.
Planning
Chislehurst Co-op Opening Hours: Bid to Trade Until 11pm
The Co-op at 76 Green Lane has applied to trade from 7am to 11pm every day. Comments close on 5 October, and officers rather than councillors will decide.
Bromley Council
Bromley Adult Social Care: £7.2m Advisers Signed Off
Bromley will spend up to £7.2m on outside advisers to redesign learning disability care, paid from reserves. Borrowing adds £4.3m to the bill.
House prices
Bromley House Prices July 2026: Average Down £16,284
Bromley's average home lost £16,284 in a year, to £511,670 in July. It is the steepest annual fall since May 2024, and flats fell hardest while Bexley rose.
Bromley Council
Bromley Home Care: £83.7m Deal Starts 26 October
Bromley's home care changes hands on 26 October under an £83.7m four-year framework. Two providers per patch, prices down about 9%, and the names stay private.
Food and drink
Asian Curry Awards: Five Bromley Borough Finalists
Five Bromley borough restaurants are Asian Curry Awards 2026 finalists, in West Wickham, Petts Wood, Green Street Green and St Paul's Cray. Voting is open now.
Every week the London Borough of Bromley publishes more than anybody has time to read: planning applications, licensing notices, committee papers, inspection results, crime figures broken down by ward. We work through them and write up the parts that change something, in plain English, with a link to the source on every fact.
It matters here because Bromley is not one sort of place. The borough runs from the terraces of Penge and Anerley through Beckenham, Shortlands, Bromley town centre, Bickley and Chislehurst, out to Orpington and the Crays, and then keeps going into farmland at Downe, Cudham and Biggin Hill, which is how it ends up the largest borough in London by area. A scheme that barely registers in Sundridge Park can be the only subject of conversation in West Wickham or Petts Wood for a year. Alongside the news we look after the practical pages, the ones you look things up on rather than read.