Bromley London Borough Council

Bromley London Borough Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type	London borough council
Leadership
Mayor	David Jefferys, Conservative since 15 May 2024[1]
Leader	Colin Smith, Conservative since 25 September 2017[2]
Chief Executive	Ade Adetosoye CBE since December 2018
Structure
Seats	58 councillors
Political groups	Administration (35)   Conservative (35) Other parties (23)   Labour (12)   Liberal Democrats (5)   Chislehurst Matters (3)   Independent (3)
Length of term	Whole council elected every four years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Bromley Civic Centre
Website
www.bromley.gov.uk

Bromley London Borough Council, also known as Bromley Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2001. It is based at the Civic Centre at Churchill Court, having formally moved from Bromley Palace on Tuesday 17 December 2024, with the headquarter building now being in the heart of Bromley, opposite Bromley South railway station.

History

There has been a Bromley local authority since 1867 when the parish of Bromley was made a local government district, governed by an elected local board.^[3] Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894, which saw the board replaced by an urban district council.^[4] Bromley Urban District was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1903, governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Bromley", generally known as the corporation, borough council or town council.^[5][6]

The much larger London Borough of Bromley and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.^[7] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's five outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Bromley and Beckenham and the urban district councils of Orpington, Penge and Chislehurst and Sidcup (the latter in respect of the Chislehurst area only; the Sidcup area went to the London Borough of Bexley).^[8] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.^[9]

The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Bromley".^[10]

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Bromley) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Bromley has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.^[11]

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.^[12]

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.^[13] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.^[14]

Political control

Further information: Bromley London Borough Council elections

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2001.

The first election to the council was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:^[15]

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1965–1998
	No overall control	1998–2001
	Conservative	2001–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Bromley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1967 have been:^[16][17]

Councillor	Party		From	To	Notes
Michael Neubert[18]		Conservative	1967	1971
Horace Walter Haden		Conservative	1971	1972
Dennis Barkway		Conservative	1972	1976
Simon Randall		Conservative	1976	1981
Dennis Barkway		Conservative	1981	1996
Frank Cooke		Conservative	1996	1997
Michael Tickner		Conservative	1997	1998
Chris Maines		Liberal Democrats	1998	1999	Joint leaders
Sue Polydorou		Labour
Chris Maines		Liberal Democrats	1999	2001	Joint leaders
John Holbrook		Labour
Michael Tickner		Conservative	2001	2003
Russell Mellor		Conservative	2003	2004
Stephen Carr[19]		Conservative	2004	15 Sep 2017
Colin Smith		Conservative	25 Sep 2017

Elections

See also: Bromley London Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 58 councillors representing 22 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[20]

Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	35
	Labour	12
	Liberal Democrats	5
	Independent	3
	Chislehurst Matters	3
Total		58

Of the independent councillors, two sit together as the "Biggin Hill Independents" group, the other one (elected as Conservative in 2022) does not belong to any group.^[21] The next election is due in 2026.

Premises

The council was based at Bromley Town Hall on Tweedy Road from 1906 until 1982, when it relocated to Bromley Palace on Stockwell Close. Bromley Palace had belonged to the Bishop of Rochester from Norman times. The main house was built in 1775, replacing an earlier building of 1184.^[22] The council acquired the building in the early 1980s and built a large extension, moving into the enlarged complex in 1982.^[23]

The council is now based at the Civic Centre at Churchill Court, having moved from Bromley Palace in December 2024.^[24][25] Churchill Court had been built in 1988 as the headquarters of Churchill Insurance, part of Direct Line Group.^[26]

Notes

1. "Council meeting, 15 May 2024". Bromley Council. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
2. "Council minutes, 25 September 2017". Bromley Council. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
3. "No. 23238". The London Gazette. 9 April 1867. p. 2186.
4. "Local Government Act 1894", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1894 c. 73, retrieved 12 April 2024
5. Kelly's Directory of Kent. 1913. p. 112. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
6. "Bromley Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
7. "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
8. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
9. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
10. "Inter Authority Agreement for the Local London Partnership Programme" (PDF). Havering Council. 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
11. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
12. Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
13. "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
14. "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
15. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
16. "Council minutes". Bromley Council. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
17. "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
18. "Neubert is new leader". Shepherds Bush Gazette and Hammersmith Post. 26 January 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
19. "Bromley council leader Stephen Carr announces his resignation". News Shopper. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
20. "The London Borough of Bromley (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/424, retrieved 3 May 2024
21. "Your councillors by party". Bromley Council. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
22. Historic England. "The Old Palace (Grade II) (1281268)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
23. "A Bromley walk". London Footprints. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
24. "Bromley Council is on the move". Bromley Council. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
25. "Civic Centre". Bromley London Borough Council. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
26. "Direct Line Group moves to the heart of London". Direct Line Group. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.