The Bromley Council Executive is scheduled to meet on Friday 12 December 2025 to discuss a number of issues. The most significant item on the agenda is the proposed use of funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund to develop the Chipperfield Road site, providing new homes and a new facility for the Bromley Valley Gymnastics Club. The meeting will also cover other routine items.

Chipperfield Road Development

The Executive will consider a report outlining a proposal to use £27.6m of funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund 4 (LAHF4) grant programme to support the development of the Chipperfield Road site in St Paul's Cray. The report states that the funding is intended to help the council with permanent measures to reduce the burdens and cost pressures of Temporary Accommodation .

The Chipperfield Road site, a former secondary school, is identified in the Local Plan 2019 as 'Site 6', a large housing allocation site of 2.8ha, with an indicative capacity of 200 homes. The site currently houses Bromley Valley Gymnastics Club (BVGC), but the building is in a poor state of repair. The council's Local Plan anticipates a mixed-use development, including the reprovision of St Paul's Cray Library, community uses, the Bromley Valley Gym facilities and around 200 residential units.

The report notes that the planning allocation for the site is under review as part of the Local Plan review workstream, and the requirement to re-provide a gymnastics centre is likely to reduce the number of homes that can be built. It is thought that the delivery of 123 units, plus a new gymnastic centre and appropriate public realm, is likely to be considered favourably by the Local Planning Authority.

The report states that the proposed development would deliver 105 homes for permanent or temporary accommodation, and 18 homes for the resettlement programme, meeting the key criteria for the LAHF4 funding.

The Executive will be asked to:

• Propose to Full Council the addition of Chipperfield Road Site to the Capital Programme.
• Approve the submission of the Chipperfield scheme to the Local Authority Housing Fund 4 programme.
• Approve the acceptance of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) Round 4 funding estimated to be £27.633m, for the Chipperfield Road scheme.
• Approve the addition of Chipperfield Road to the Capital Programme at a value of £71.417m, funded from at least £27.633m from LAHF and £43.784m from Borrowing.
• Approve the submission and acceptance of any other grants that become available that either improve the scheme or reduce the Council's contribution and resultant borrowing required.
• Approve proceeding to procurement for a Multi-Disciplinary Design Team, at an estimated cost of £4m, and delegate authority to the Director of Housing, Planning, Property and Regeneration to agree the detailed procurement strategy and approve award of contract.
• Approve proceeding to procurement for the main Chipperfield Road Works contract at an estimated cost of £59m, and delegate authority to the Director of Housing, Planning, Property and Regeneration to agree the detailed procurement strategy.
• Agree to the public consultation of the designs and to the submission of a Planning Application.
• Note that the Council will be foregoing an estimated Capital receipt of circa £5m by developing the Chipperfield Road site.
• Authorise the appropriation for planning purposes of the land surplus to operational need at the Chipperfield Road site, for the purposes of Housing, shown edged red in Appendix A to this report pursuant to section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA ).
• Delegate authority to the Director of Corporate Services to sign and execute all legal documentation relating to the appropriation for Planning purposes pursuant to the HPA in relation to the Chipperfield Road site, and any ancillary legal documentation arising thereto.
• Approve the cost of the planned appointment of two FTE Project Managers within the Regeneration team to support the delivery of the scheme.
• Note that this scheme will be progressed subject to a Secretary of State Direction to either a) hold the properties outside the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) or b) by Secretary of State's Direction to allow the transfer of an appropriate sum from the General Fund to the HRA as set out in section 5.
• Full Council is asked to Approve the Budget of £71.417m and add the programme to the Capital Programme.

The report also provides an indicative timetable for the project, with the aim of starting on site in March/April 2027 and completing in August 2030.

Other Items

The agenda also includes apologies for absence and declarations of interest.