Bromley Council's Development Control Committee has approved plans to replace the Poverest Adult Education Centre with 42 affordable homes, a decision made at a meeting on Thursday, July 23, 2026. The approval grants permission for the demolition of the existing centre and a caretaker's house on Poverest Road, Orpington, to make way for the new housing development, which includes vehicular access, pedestrian connections, car and cycle parking, and landscaping.
The Poverest Adult Education Centre is scheduled to vacate at the end of the summer academic term in 2027. The report does not specify a timeline for the construction of the new homes.
Concerns were raised during the meeting regarding the loss of the adult education centre, considered social infrastructure, and the development encroaching on designated Urban Open Space (UOS). The site is designated as UOS in the Bromley Local Plan (2019) and is afforded protection under Policy 55 of the Bromley Local Plan and Policy G4 of the London Plan. The development encroaches upon it because it is a residential development and does not meet any of the exceptions outlined in Policy 55. Specifically, it is not related to the existing or allocated use, not small-scale supporting recreational uses, and does not involve replacement buildings not exceeding the site coverage of existing development. The proposal would significantly increase built site coverage and materially reduce the openness of the site.
Council officers acknowledged that while the reprovision of adult education services is planned through a hub-and-spoke model, the details remain insufficiently defined. The details of the spoke network remain insufficiently defined, and final venue arrangements have not yet been secured. The report does not specify when these details will be finalized.
However, the committee deemed that the benefits of delivering much-needed affordable housing outweighed the identified harms. The development is expected to make a substantial contribution to the borough's housing supply, addressing a significant shortfall. The latest published five-year housing land supply is 1.93 years, a very significant undersupply. The Housing Delivery Test 2023 results indicate that housing delivery has fallen below 75% over the HDT period, requiring a 20% buffer to be added to the Council's housing requirement.
The proposal includes 42 affordable rented units, comprising family-sized accommodation and 5 wheelchair-accessible homes. Specifically, there are 18 two-bedroom units (42.9%), 23 three-bedroom units (11.9% + 31%), and 6 four-bedroom units (14.3%). The 5 wheelchair-accessible units are specified as 3-bedroom units.
The landscaping proposals include a village green, a contemplation garden, a community growing garden, a waiting garden, a play on the way
space, and a woodland walk. An off-site financial contribution is also proposed towards improvements at Tillingbourne Green (designated Urban Open Space) and Poverest Park. The planting scheme includes 42 individual trees and three multi-stem trees as mitigation for tree loss. Specific plant species mentioned for the wider park include alder, field maple, lime, birch, hazel, hawthorn, holly, crab apple, pear, rowan, wayfaring tree, sedge, iris, rudbeckia, salvia, dogwood, and verbena. The integration with surrounding Urban Open Space is mentioned through contributions to Tillingbourne Green and Poverest Park.
The proposal includes 29 unallocated car parking spaces along the new internal street, with 1 car club space and 5 disabled car spaces, equating to approximately 0.65 spaces per dwelling, which complies with London Plan standards. Cycle parking includes 87 spaces for each dwelling with two or more bedrooms, located in rear gardens in cycle sheds, and 3 visitor cycle stands integrated into the landscaping. The development also includes 100% electric car charging points for all 29 spaces. The proposal aims to support walking and cycling through a network of routes and improved connectivity, aligning with sustainable travel objectives despite the site's low Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL 1b).
For more details on the committee's decisions, see the Decisions Thursday 23 July 2026 document. The full report pack can be found here, and the agenda frontsheet is available here.
