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The latest Bromley news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.

Top story Bromley Lights Switch-On: Chesney Hawkes and The Hoosiers Chesney Hawkes and The Hoosiers headline Bromley's free switch-on on Sunday 15 November. Fireworks at 6.30pm; the full running order from 2pm is here. · 4 min read

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Parking Orpington Taxi Rank to Become Parking: Objections by 25 Nov Bromley Council plans to swap the taxi rank outside 168-170 Orpington High Street for parking and a motorbike bay, and add ranks at Chelsfield and Widmore Road. · 3 min read Roads Bromley Hill 20mph: TfL to Cut A21 Limit From Early 2027 TfL will cut the A21 from 30mph to 20mph from Catford to Avondale Road, at the Bromley boundary, with the work due to start in early 2027. Buses are unchanged. · 4 min read Bins and recycling Bromley Leaves: Where to Take Them While Waldo Road Is Shut The council's leaf advice names Waldo Road, but the tip is still shut. Churchfields Road, Norman Park on Saturdays and £3.10 sacks are the options for now. · 4 min read Housing Chipperfield Road: £2.2m design deal for 123 homes and gym Bromley has picked Bond Bryan Architects to design 123 affordable homes and a new gymnastics centre in St Paul's Cray, six months later than its own timetable. · 5 min read Police New Cross Road Van Driver Jailed for Running Over Cyclist Mark Okotie, 44, was jailed for 3 years 6 months for running over a cyclist on New Cross Road while carrying blood for hospital patients, the Met says. · 3 min read Roadworks A21 Masons Hill Closed Northbound After Burst Main The A21 at Homesdale Road is open again under temporary lights after the burst main, TfL says, with work listed to 2 November. Bus notices are still up. · 3 min read Business Bromley Business Mentor Scheme: Free Six-Month Support Bromley start-ups and small firms can get a free volunteer mentor for six months, at 2 to 3 hours a month. Mentors are wanted too. How to apply. · 2 min read Bonfire Night Firework Burns: Cool for 20 Minutes, St John Ambulance Says Cool a firework burn under running water for at least 20 minutes, never rub an eye: St John Ambulance's first aid advice before Bonfire Night in Bromley. · 4 min read House prices Bromley House Prices August 2026: Up £7,384 in a Month Bromley's average home rose 1.4% in August to £520,253, the biggest monthly rise since March 2025. The yearly fall has shrunk to 0.5%, and semis are up again. · 4 min read Business Kaizen Bromley: Company Wound Up, Liquidators Appointed The High Court wound up M C S C Restaurants, the company behind Kaizen at The Glades, on 7 October. Liquidators took over on 14 October; Kaizen is silent. · 3 min read Beckenham Beckenham Baby Loss Awareness Week: 14 Displays, Mayor Visit Fourteen displays, ribbons and services ran across Beckenham for Baby Loss Awareness Week, organised by a mum whose son Jacob was stillborn in 2021. · 4 min read Sport Andy Woodman Leaves Bromley FC: Byron Webster Takes Charge Andy Woodman left Bromley FC by mutual consent on 22 October; Byron Webster is interim manager. No permanent successor yet. Three trophies in 5½ years. · 3 min read Planning Bromley Planning Call-Ins: 7 in 10 Barred From 31 October Councillors called in 97 Bromley planning applications in a year. About 70% could not go to committee under the national rules that start on 31 October. · 4 min read Transport A20 40mph Fines: MPs Say Court Found the Limit Unlawful Three MPs say a Crown Court found TfL's 40mph limit on the A20 through Bromley unlawful. They want fines repaid and points removed; no refund route yet. · 4 min read Community Bromley Counselling Charity: Male Clients Up 50% This Year Westmeria says male clients are up 50% since ex-Bromley FC player Francis Duku became its ambassador. Almost 100 professionals came to its first summit. · 4 min read Community Bromley Christmas Appeal: Drop-Off Points Open to 6 November Leave new pyjamas, Christmas jumpers and unused gifts at 10 drop-off points by 6 November. Bromley Brighter Beginnings helped over 700 children last year. · 5 min read Council St Paul's Cray Councillor Dean Miller Now an Independent Dean Miller, elected for Reform UK in St Paul's Cray in May, is now listed by the council as an Independent after an ITV investigation. Reform has 5 seats. · 2 min read Council Bromley Foster Carers for Teenagers Paid Up to £557 a Week Bromley pays foster carers of 16 and 17-year-olds £557.27 a week, about £29,000 a year. The council wants more homes for teenagers; sessions from 27 October. · 4 min read What's On What's On in Bromley This Weekend, 16 to 18 October Free steel orchestra at Crystal Palace Bowl on Sunday, The Vortex's last nights, Tubular Bells at the Churchill, and no Bromley North trains Saturday. · 4 min read Beckenham Beckenham Odeon Closes End of November, Not December Odeon says it stops trading in Beckenham at the end of November 2026 after giving up its lease. No other cinema operator has shown interest, Citygate says. · 4 min read Planning Beckenham Padel Centre Approved Against Officers' Advice Councillors approved the Creswell Drive padel and gym centre on protected open land, overruling officers. The Wharton Road children's home plan was pulled. · 5 min read Chislehurst Chislehurst Mini Mart Granted 6am to 11pm Alcohol Licence Councillors granted 26 Chislehurst High Street a 6am to 11pm off-sales licence despite four objections, adding rules on deliveries and where alcohol sits. · 4 min read Bromley Roots4Learning Bromley: 60 Places for Pupils Out of School A Bromley centre for pupils who cannot face school takes 60 a week, Years 6 to 13. Its founders and parents explain how it works and how to get a place. · 9 min read Community Bromley EuroMillions Ticket Worth £256,117 Still Unclaimed A EuroMillions ticket bought in the borough for the 25 September draw matched five numbers and one Lucky Star. The £256,117 prize must be claimed by 24 March 2027. · 3 min read Business Black Horse, Biggin Hill: Pub Lease on Sale for £75,000 The 1908 pub on Main Road is offered as a going concern, free of tie, with the £75,000 covering goodwill, fixtures and fittings. What is for sale and what it means for regulars. · 3 min read Environment Bromley Fly-Tipping: Two More Tipper Trucks Seized Bromley Council seized Ford Transit tippers in Barnfield Road, St Mary Cray, and Old Maidstone Road this week. Its six-month tally is now nine seized and eleven crushed. · 2 min read What's On What's On in Bromley This Weekend, 10 to 12 October Free Crystal Palace Subway open day and Dracula in the vaults on Saturday, Just Vibez at the Bowl on Sunday, The Vortex at Bromley Little Theatre, and no Charing Cross trains all weekend. · 5 min read Planning Bromley Planning This Week: 8 Flats on a Penge Roof All 33 applications Bromley registered from 1 to 7 October: eight flats on top of Cortland House in Penge, five barn conversions at Lone Barn Farm, a sensory garden at Perry Hall. Plus the week's decisions. · 7 min read Biggin Hill The Old Jail, Biggin Hill: Plans In to Reopen It as a Pub Kent pub group WH Pubs has applied to restore and extend The Old Jail on Jail Lane, shut since early 2023. Comments close 16 and 27 October. · 4 min read Orpington Orpington parkrun Passes 100,000 Finishes at Goddington Park Orpington parkrun logged its 100,000th finish on 3 October, at its 663rd event. 14,419 different people have run it. When it runs and how to join. · 2 min read Planning Beckenham Padel Centre: Officers Urged Refusal, Now Approved Officers say refuse the 7-court padel and tennis centre on the Creswell Drive field, despite 191 letters of support. Councillors decide on Thursday 8 October. · 7 min read Council Bromley Council Asked to Condemn New Planning Rules On 12 October councillors vote to shrink the planning committee and on a motion calling the government's changes anti-democratic. Plus Waldo Road questions. · 6 min read West Wickham West Wickham Leisure Centre: Steel Frame Up, Pool Due 2028 The steel frame of the new £22m West Wickham Leisure Centre is largely up and it is due to open in early 2028, four years after the old centre shut. · 4 min read Orpington Aldi Farnborough Way, Orpington: Still Upcoming, No New Date Aldi Farnborough Way, BR6 7GE: still listed as upcoming with no date on 29 October, after the council refused two sets of condition details. Hours 8am to 10pm. · 7 min read Business Bromley Market Stall Trial: £198 for Two Weeks From 29 Oct A shared trial stall on Bromley's Charter Market costs £198 for two weeks or £396 for four. The first two traders start on 29 October; apply now. · 4 min read Crime Bromley Crime Figures: West Wickham Shoplifting Up 187% Bromley crime was flat in the year to August 2026, but West Wickham shoplifting nearly tripled and Bromley Town drug offences rose 64%. Every ward ranked. · 8 min read Beckenham Beckenham Odeon Closes in November: Citygate's Church Plan Odeon leaves Beckenham at the end of November 2026, and owner Citygate Church wants the Grade II cinema as a church. Its planning application is still to come. · 6 min read Bromley Bromley Man Runs Berlin Marathon After Rugby Broke His Neck Peter Evans, 49, broke his neck in a rugby tackle in October 2024. On Sunday he finished the Berlin Marathon, raising £1,750 for Spinal Research so far. · 4 min read Business Kaizen Bromley: HMRC Petition Ends in Winding-Up Order The company behind Kaizen at The Glades was wound up on 7 October after HMRC's petition. Here is what the petition and the company's accounts showed. · 5 min read Council Bromley Council This Week: Standards Committee, 1 Complaint One meeting in the next seven days: the Standards Committee, Wednesday 30 September, 7pm. One complaint against a councillor in 14 months, no breach found. · 6 min read Council Blenheim Centre Orpington: £4.5m Works From February 2027 Orpington's Blenheim Children and Family Centre gets an 18-month, £4.5m rebuild from February 2027. Age Concern's day centre and the contact centres move in. · 9 min read Council Ombudsman Faults Bromley Council 3 More Times on EHC Plans Three more upheld Ombudsman findings on Bromley EHC plans: a transfer left five months, a placement never found, a review eight months late. £1,000 to be paid. · 9 min read 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. · 5 min read Planning Bromley Planning This Week: Nursery Bid Among 27 New All 27 applications Bromley registered from 17 to 22 September: a Milk Street nursery seeking 42 children, up to 9 homes behind Fishers Wood Grove, a padel club redesign. · 4 min read 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. · 3 min read 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. · 5 min read 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. · 4 min read 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. · 4 min read 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. · 4 min read 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. · 5 min read Council Bromley Family Hubs: Four Named, Six Centres Open Now The Executive endorsed four Family Hub localities on 16 September: Community Vision, Castlecombe, Blenheim and Biggin Hill. The borough runs six centres today. · 6 min read 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. · 6 min read 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. · 5 min read 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. · 4 min read Jobs Bromley Claimant Count August 2026: Under-25s Up 8.7% Bromley's claimant count rose to 7,295 in August, up 135 in a year. Under-25s are up 8.7 per cent and over-50s 4 per cent, while the 25 to 49 group fell. · 5 min read 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. · 4 min read Council Bromley Appoints Andrew Carter to Lead Children's Services Andrew Carter returns to Bromley as Director of Children, Education and Families. He inherits an outstanding Ofsted rating and a £57.6m schools deficit. · 6 min read Adult social care Astley Day Centre Bromley: Charity Takes Over in £8m Deal The Astley Centre is now run by Diagrama Foundation on a five-year £8m contract, with three more years possible. What changes for families, and what does not. · 5 min read Bromley Council Bromley Council Budget: £4.6m Overspend After 3 Months Bromley's first budget check of the year forecasts a £4.6m service overspend, general reserves down to £16.9m by March and a schools deficit heading for £57.6m. · 6 min read Orpington Orpington Data Centre: Green Belt Site Needs Full EIA Bromley has ruled that a data centre proposed on green belt land at Charmwood Lane, Green Street Green, needs a full assessment. No application is lodged yet. · 6 min read Bromley Council Bromley Parks: idverde Keeps the Contract to 2035 Bromley has agreed an eight-year idverde extension to 2035. Park security moves across from Veolia and the grounds quality target rises from 75% to 90%. · 6 min read Orpington Poverest Centre Closure: Orpington Has Until 18 October Bromley again proposes closing Orpington's Poverest adult education centre after a court quashed its 2025 decision. The nine options, costs and how to respond. · 6 min read Food and drink Bromley Restaurant Week 2026: 45 Offers From £5 to £25 Bromley's first Restaurant Week runs 12 to 20 September, with 45 offers from £5 to £25 at 24 town centre venues. Every deal, and how to claim one. · 6 min read Crime Bromley High Street Stabbing: Boy, 14, Charged, Six Bailed A boy of 14 is charged with affray and two weapon offences after the Bromley High Street stabbing. Six of the eight people arrested are on bail. · 6 min read Air quality Bromley Air Quality Plan: Wood Burners Are 25% of PM2.5 Bromley's draft air quality plan puts a quarter of the borough's fine particle pollution on home wood burning. The consultation is open until 18 October. · 7 min read Schools Orion Scotts Park Ofsted: Strong in 3 of 7 Areas, No Grade Ofsted graded Bromley's Orion Scotts Park strong for behaviour, early years and leadership, and expected standard in four more. Safeguarding standards met. · 4 min read Dogs Bromley Dog Rules: Cemetery Ban Dropped, £100 Fine Stays Bromley's dog control order runs three more years from 1 October, unchanged. The cemetery ban put to residents is out: 331 of 719 who answered opposed it. · 5 min read Bromley St Olave's pupil takes 12 grade 9s while bowling for Kent Arnav Singh, 16, scored 9s in all 12 GCSEs, 98% in English Literature, while playing county cricket, for St Olave's and for Bromley CC. His mum tells the story. · 4 min read Orpington Orpington Post Office Closed 24 October, Four Days Early Orpington High Street Post Office shut on 24 October, not 28. Nearest counters: Eldred Drive and Tile Farm Road, each about a mile away, with hours and services. · 7 min read Health Bromley Blood Pressure Checks: Free Drop-Ins 7-11 September Free blood pressure checks, no booking, in Mottingham, Bromley and Penge, 7 to 11 September. An estimated 23,192 adults in the borough have it undiagnosed. · 4 min read Regeneration Elmfield Road Bromley: First Designs Shown 10 September Bromley Council shows its first Elmfield Road designs on Thursday 10 September at Devonshire House, 4pm and 6pm. Construction is not due until spring 2027. · 5 min read Food hygiene Bromley Food Hygiene: 15 on a 1, and It Is Not the Food Every one of Bromley's 15 businesses rated 1 scored the worst mark for management, not food. One scored perfectly on food and premises and still got a 1. · 7 min read Infrastructure Thames Water Bromley: £15m Done, Biggin Hill Digs to 2027 Thames Water has finished a £15m rebuild of its Shortlands booster station. Its other Bromley job, 3.9km of new main at Biggin Hill, now runs to September 2027. · 4 min read SEND Bromley SEND Local Offer Moves to bromleysend.org Bromley's SEND Local Offer is now at bromleysend.org. The EHC plan pages did not move with it, and a free family event is set for the October half term. · 6 min read Planning David Bowie House Bromley: Museum Application Withdrawn The Bowie childhood home museum application was withdrawn on 22 October with no decision. The Trust still aims to open the house in late 2027. · 6 min read Environment Bromley Fly-Tipping: 7 Vans Seized, 11 Crushed Bromley has seized seven vehicles and crushed eleven in six months. Hand your rubbish to an unregistered carrier and the £5,000 fine is yours. · 4 min read Business Russell & Bromley Creditors: £40.4m Owed, Maybe 1.5p Back £40.4m is owed to unsecured creditors and £8.5m is in hand, but the costs ahead of them leave about £597,000, roughly 1.5p in the pound. The filed figures in full. · 15 min read Trading Standards Bromley Rogue Roofers: Demands Top £270,000 in 4 Cases An Orpington resident paid £90,000 for a roof on a small terraced house. Trading Standards is warning of four Bromley cases, with demands topping £270,000. · 6 min read Council Bromley Council Pays £11,660 for 20 Months Missed Support A young person in Bromley went 20 months without the support his EHC plan promised. The council fixes just 2% of upheld cases early, against 14% elsewhere. · 6 min read Schools Bromley GCSE results 2026: 91.5% top grades at St Olave's St Olave's put 91.5% of grades at 9 to 7 and Bromley High 74%. Seven Bromley schools published figures, the council none, and here is how to read them. · 7 min read Planning Bromley Central Library's old home cleared for shops or gyms Permission granted on 18 August turns the old library floors by the Churchill Theatre into shops, cafes, gyms, clinics or offices, and reclads the facade. · 5 min read Recycling Waldo Road Tip Reopens in November, 21 Months Shut Waldo Road recycling centre in Bromley reopens mid-November 2026, booking only, after 21 months shut. Exact date not yet set. Where to take waste until then. · 5 min read Jobs Bromley Claimant Count: Under-25s Up 24% in Two Years Bromley's claimant count barely moved in a year, at 7,320. Underneath it, 18 to 24-year-olds are up 23.9% in two years, the fourth-steepest rise in London. · 5 min read House prices Bromley House Prices Down £7,231 as Neighbours Rise Bromley's average home lost £7,231 in a year, to £518,235. Bexley and Lewisham rose over the same period. The June Land Registry figures, by property type. · 4 min read Housing St Paul's Cray: 68 affordable homes rise, 3,430 waiting Foundations are complete on 68 council homes at Bellegrove, a £29m scheme due late 2027. Bromley's housing register holds 3,430 households. · 6 min read Libraries Shortlands Library shut for years: subsidence and asbestos Bromley Council: Shortlands Library shut for months if not years as two front trees cause subsidence, cracked asbestos walls and a sinkhole. Where the library is now. · 6 min read Schools Bromley A level results 2026: 53% at A* or A at Newstead Newstead Wood got 53% of A level entries at A* or A in 2026, Bromley High 58%, against 32.7% across London. Langley Park Girls 20%, and how to compare them. · 7 min read Parks Shaftesbury Park playground reopens after £105,000 revamp New swings, a rebuilt climbing frame and a restored pond are open at Shaftesbury Park in Plaistow, paid for with a £75,000 Veolia grant and £23,000 of jubilee parks money. · 4 min read Housing 52 affordable homes approved for Orpington and Mottingham Bromley has approved 42 council homes on Poverest Road, Orpington and 10 more on Castlecombe Road, Mottingham, all for households on its housing register. · 4 min read Roads Bromley road repairs: FM Conway takes on £106m contracts FM Conway now fixes Bromley's roads, pavements, street lights and drains under three contracts worth an estimated £106m over six years from 1 July 2026. · 2 min read Food hygiene Bromley food hygiene ratings July 2026: all 66 scored 4 or 5 Inspectors rated 66 Bromley borough food businesses in July 2026: 64 took the top score of 5 and two cafes took a 4. Not one fell below 'good'. The full list, linked. · 4 min read