The Bromley Council Development Control Committee met on 27 November 2025, and approved the recommendation to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of the West Wickham Leisure Centre subject to a legal agreement. The committee also noted updates on planning appeals, councillor planning application call-ins, planning enforcement actions, and HPR planning KPIs¹.

West Wickham Leisure Centre Redevelopment

The committee approved the recommendation to grant planning permission for the proposed redevelopment of West Wickham Leisure Centre, subject to a legal agreement. The proposal (reference 25/03745/FPA) involves demolishing the existing leisure centre and constructing a new two-storey building, while retaining and refurbishing the single-storey learner pool facility.

The new leisure centre will include:

• a 25-metre, six-lane swimming pool
• a unisex changing village
• a viewing area
• a café
• a soft play area
• a gym
• a studio

The car park will be reconfigured to provide 56 spaces, including two accessible bays and one motorcycle space.

The legal agreement will cover:

• environmental monitoring (£2,890)
• energy (£51,728)
• planning obligation monitoring fee (£1,000)

The committee report noted that while the proposal does not achieve a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain, a Biodiversity Gain Plan condition would apply to any planning permission granted. This plan would determine whether the development meets the biodiversity gain objective.

Planning Enforcement Actions

The committee reviewed the Planning Enforcement Actions Progress and Monitoring Report for April 2024 to March 2025. The report provided an update on current enforcement cases, including those at appeal, awaiting compliance, or pending prosecution. It also covered new practices and tools used to address breaches of planning control.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, the council served 76 enforcement notices and closed 686 cases. The Planning Investigation Team has been proactive in investigating potential breaches, issuing Enforcement Warning Letters as an initial step. The council may also take direct action to remedy breaches, recovering costs through charges on the property or land, or potentially through enforced sales.

As of the meeting date, the council was pursuing prosecution in several cases, including those related to tree enforcement and general planning enforcement.

Planning Appeals Update

The committee considered a report on planning appeals, which provided an update on the council's performance for the year 2024/2025. The number of planning appeals lodged has remained steady, with 197 appeal decisions issued by the Planning Inspectorate (PINs) in FY24/25. Of these, 139 were dismissed, resulting in a 71% dismissal rate.

The report also noted that the council's performance in relation to the 'speed' and 'quality' of decision making is measured by the government (MHCLG). Bromley's figures are well below the MHCLG 10% designation threshold, reflecting the 'quality' of decision-making across the planning service.

The report mentioned that the Planning Inspectorate is in the process of replacing its Appeals Casework Portal with a new casework management system and introducing simplified appeal procedures for written representations.

Councillor Planning Application 'Call Ins'

The committee received information on councillor 'call-ins' for planning applications from 1 October 2024, to 30 September 2025. During this period, there were 41 call-ins, representing 2% of the total applications decided. Of the called-in cases, 54 were conditional call-ins that were able to be determined under delegated authority, and 20 were considered at committee. All of the allowed appeals were cases where the officer recommendation was overturned at committee.

HPR Planning KPIs

The committee considered the Housing, Planning and Regeneration (HPR) Planning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Application numbers received remain slightly less than in recent years, a trend that has also been observed across other local planning authorities. Performance for the period remains comfortably over the 70% target.