Latest news in Planning 
Appeals: the new approach
Planning applications - Layhams Road
Bromley Council Premises Licence application UPDATED
Sustainable Communities Act 2007
Land Use Bill 2008-9
Planning applications list - the WCRA Database
The London Borough of Bromley (LBB) states that they should normally be able to decide upon a planning application within eight weeks. A period of about 4 weeks is normally allowed for written comments, objections or support from the general public, or from a wider field normally the local Residents' Association. Your Committee thus has little time to hear members' views and prepare a written response to the council on any particular application. It is thus important that you contact a committee member as soon as possible if you wish to object to an application/seek support from the committee.
Important changes to permitted development rights for householders
The Government has made changes to the permitted development rights for householders; these came into force on 1 st October 2008. An interactive guide is available online from the Bromley Council Web site, within their Planning section.
If this does not cover the proposals for changes to your property, there are two approaches:-
Planning advice and enquiries
The Planning Section of the Bromley Council offers information and advice, normally free, on all aspects of planning from details on the types of development that require planning permission to advice and guidance on preparing and submitting plans and applications.
Certificate of Lawfulness
There will be a charge in seeking this Certificate but it will establish if formal Planning permission is required or if it is a permitted development. The involvement of the Bromley Council Building Control Department may be required.
Appeals: The new Approach. Report dated 13 January 2010
Bromley Council has published their new approach to any costs awarded to the person/s or Bromley Council awarded as a result of an Appeal to the Secretary of State. The official documentation being implemented by Bromley Council is:
“Circular 03/09: Costs Award in Appeals and Other Planning Proceedings” All enquires should be made to the Town Planning Department of Bromley Council.
General principles
In planning appeals, and other proceedings, the parties involved normally meet their own expenses.
When will costs be awarded? Costs will normally be awarded where the following conditions have been met:
- A party has made a timely application for an award of costs
- The party against whom the award is sought has acted unreasonably.
- The unreasonable behaviour has caused the party applying for costs to incur unnecessary or wasted expense in the appeal process – either the whole of the expense because it should not have been necessary for the matter to be determined by the Secretary of State or appointed Inspector, or part of the expense because of the manner in which a party has behaved in the process
This is a very important document which should be considered if WCRA members, or the WCRA Committee on their behalf, are considering making an Appeal to the Secretary of State.
Another point, contained within this large “Appeals: The new Regime” document where local planning authorities at risk of costs being awarded against them is:
While planning authorities are expected to consider the views of local residents when determining a planning application, the extent of local opposition is not, in itself, a reasonable ground for resisting development. To carry significant weight, opposition should be founded on valid planning reasons which are supported by substantial evidence. Planning authorities should therefore make their own objective appraisal and ensure that valid planning reasons are stated and substantial evidence provided.
Layhams Rd Planning Applications within the Green Belt
Old Planning Planning Applications
09/00889/FULL2. Highams Hill Farm, Layhams Road, Keston, Kent, BR2 6AR. Date: 28 May 2009.
Requesting Building permission to convert to commercial Unit/s with Classes B1,B2,B8 use.
Bromley Council is still considering this application as at Feb 2010.
09/00286/FULL2 Willies Chicken Farm, Layhams Road , Keston, Kent, BR2 6AR Date: 01 March 2009
Change of use of land from an ex Chicken Farm to 10 separate Yards including storage racking, boundary fencing (Corrugated iron) and gates and sighting of portable office.
Bromley Council has refused this application. During the appeal, the applicant withdrew his request.
08/02802/FULL1 Land at junction Sheep Barn Lane and Layhams Rd. Date 21 August 08
Use of land for stationing of caravans including boundary fencing and landscaping (to provide two Showmen's family plots). Applicant has withdrawn his application
New Planning Application
10/00281/FULL2. Morgans Holdings, Layhams Rd, Keston, BR2 6AR
Change of use of land from agricultural to extension of Keston Showmen's site. Date 04 February 2010. Your Committee is presently considering a response.
Travellers' Sites in Bromley. Report dated 14 January 2010
This report is a brief summary of a recent talk given by Bromley Council's Chief Planning Officer.
Bromley became a “designated borough” in 1990 which meant that unlawfully stationed caravans and their occupants could be removed by order of a Magistrate's court (Criminal Law) – thus issues could be dealt with quickly and travellers moved on. This scheme is now defunct and Bromley had to go through the correct planning channels and procedures (Civil Law). These procedures often resulted in temporary stays (2 or 5 years) being often granted on appeal to the Secretary of State by travellers requesting permanent occupation of their present sites – the Secretary of State avoiding a final ruling.
Can travellers extend their stay?
No, but as long as ‘temporary stays' continue to be granted on appeal, even retrospectively, and is a ‘personal' one, it becomes a tradable commodity which makes the Council's job of enforcement difficult and long-winded. There are not enough Council personnel to check whether a 2 or 5-year extension is running out, whether the permitted number of caravans are stationed on the site.
The Government has often been approached to make a binding ruling in such cases to avoid unnecessary expenditure dealing with the same problems. John Horam MP has raised the issue more than once in the House of Commons and advocated the return of the ‘designated borough' status i.e. from Civil Law back to Criminal Law. It is a tricky state of affairs and the Government thinks it best to delegate decisions to local authorities.
Last year's (2008) Government Report: Strategy for gypsies and travellers, addressed the need for provision of sites across the country. The Mayor of London has sent his understanding of a “fair share” of pitches to be provided to all London boroughs. In addition to the existing pitches Bromley was to provide a further 117 pitches by 2012; although this figure of 117 was later reduced to 59. Bromley disputes this figure.
Bromley's Chief Planning Officer (Bob McMillan) indicated that Bromley's findings do not agree with the Mayor of London's findings and, as the figure has been reduced once, it cannot be assumed to be correct.
Bromley has a positive relationship with travellers and acknowledges the need for extra pitches but if the extra pitches as outlined in the Mayor's report are to be provided without justifiable evidence then the quota of all London boroughs must be looked at. It is known that some boroughs, Lewisham being one, have sold off former sites for development and not made provision for alternative pitches.
Bromley Council Premises Licence Application
The Dandelion, 41 Croydon Road , Coney Hall.
The application is for the change of use of the property into a Café/Bar. If approval is granted then The Dandelion will apply for a Licence to sell alcohol.
Both applications i.e. planning and alcohol licence had been submitted.
UPDATE: The Applicant has now decided that due to the various conditions applied by the Council to abandon the project of opening The Dandelion.
The ‘CRU' 103 High Street, West Wickham
This traditional Restaurant has applied for a variation of their Premises Licence. If approved this would effectively change it into a type of Restaurant/Bar i.e. similar to the granted Premises Licence recently granted to The ‘Coney' Public House.
Although this application is a distance from the Coney Hall area, your WCRA Committee believes that any licence differences between Public Houses and the up and coming Restaurant/Bars and Cafe/Bars would encourage travelling from one Pub, Cafe/Bar or Restaurant/Bar to another for a further few drinks. The WCRA worry this might encourage ‘binge drinking'.
‘The WCRA, requests the Council, that a restriction on the ‘Hours of the supply of alcohol' to persons not intending to purchase a table meal, similar to those Premises Licenced times placed recently upon “The Coney” restaurant/bar in Coney Hall is applied to the “CRU”'.
The CRU was granted a revision to their Premises License, but with conditions. These licensing conditions must be taken into account in any Planning Approval granted. As yet no Planning Application has been made.
The New Inn, 59 Station Approach, Haves, BR2 7EA
An application for a Variation Premises Licence.
It is the aim of your committee to ensure that the times for the sale of alcohol, etc are similar within the Hayes, West Wickham and Coney Hall area. This hopefully will prevent the abuse of alcohol, public nuisance and possibly crime and disorder, which situations occur in other adjacent areas. Our comments have been inputted into Bromley Council.
Parliament - Sustainable Communities Act 2007
The Act impacts on central government. The aim of the Act is to make government do more to help promote sustainable communities. These aims are defined in the Act as having 4 categories:
local economies , e.g. promoting local shops, local businesses, local public services and local jobs
environment, e.g. promoting local renewable energy, protecting green spaces
social inclusion e.g. protecting local public services and alleviating fuel poverty and food poverty
democratic involvement , e.g. promoting local people participating in local decision making
The Act specifies that local authorities cannot make suggestions for improving their local communities and environment to central government, without involving ‘local people'. Thus councils must set up panels of representatives of local people. These local ‘citizens' panels can make proposals to their council. The local council must ‘reach agreement' with the proposals from these ‘citizens' panels prior to submission to central government. The government must ‘co-operate' and ‘reach agreement' with the Local Government Association, who will represent all the proposals that are made by local councils who have had to involve ‘local people'. This form of decision-making (Double Devolution) is new and unprecedented in law and is why this Act has real teeth.
However , the Act does not require councils to “opt-in”, and be bound to the requirements and processes. They can effectively, by doing nothing, “opt-out” and not be covered by this Act and processes. Your Committee and members have lobbied the Bromley Council to “opt-in”. At present, LBB has not “opted-in” to the Act.
Your Committee are closely monitoring this situation where, it seems, that our Council is dragging its feet in “opting in” to this democratic Act, to the detriment of local residents.
At our 2009 AGM, Cllr Anne Manning reported that the Council was still considering this issue and still are (Mar 2010).
Parliament - Land Use (Gardens Protection Etc) Bill 2008-9
Local planning authorities have to conform to Government requirements relating to housing density targets. In order to meet these targets, some people believe that local authorities feel pressured into allowing building on domestic gardens and other urban green space, which are presently classified as “Brown Sites”.
This is at least the 3rd attempt to get the subject of this Bill through, which makes provision for the protection of gardens and urban green spaces. This time it is a Private Members' Bill (Presentation Bill) introduced by Mr Andrew Dismore.
This Bill was presented to Parliament on 26 January 2009. This is known as First Reading and there was no debate on the Bill at this stage. The Bill is a Private Member's Bill and, as such, unlikely to be printed until close to a Second Reading debate. Consequently we, the WCRA, will not know if the aim of this Bill, like the previous failed Bills, is to change the present “Brown Site” classification of Back Gardens and other urban green spaces into “Green Site” classification. This Bill will be on the Order Paper for a Second Reading debate on 16 October 2009 .
Your WCRA Committee and other members, have in the past, passed their support for the change to our local MP for the re-classification of Back Gardens from “Brown Sites” to “Green Sites”.
Our Planning database
The LBB issues, by post, weekly Planning lists itemising all new planning applications, a decision list which indicates whether a particular application is approved or not and other items e.g. appeals against the LBB decision. The WCRA database logs those new planning applications applicable to our area and you can download this as a pdf file here.