Bromley Council is currently consulting on the council’s budget for 2024-2025.

The council has projected a net budget of £267 million for 2024/25.

Spending plans include:

• £94 million on adult social care providing services from care assessment to home care, from support for those with physical disabilities, to support for those with learning disabilities and those with mental health issues
• £69 million is for children and young people and includes safeguarding and social care, special educational needs services, behavioural support, early years, education and schools.
• £13 million on providing housing services
• £44 million is spent on the environment such as waste services, street cleaning, traffic, public protection, road safety and maintaining Bromley’s parks and green spaces
• £10 million for renewal and recreation covering services like our libraries, regenerating and managing our town centres, and our planning services
• £10 million is spent on concessionary fares (Freedom Passes)
• A large part of the council’s services are funded by specific government grants which includes, for example, funding for schools and housing benefits. The council has very limited influence on how this money is spent.

The 2024/25 local government settlement is the sixth one-year settlement in a row and this continues to hamper strategic financial planning, making it especially challenging to set a medium-term financial strategy. Further uncertainty remains as the fair funding review has been delayed until at least 2026/27.

More information available on the council website: https://www.bromley.gov.uk/council-democracy/council-budget-202425

Please share your thoughts by midday on Thursday 1 February by email to consultations​​​​​​​@bromley.gov.uk.

Thames Water will be closing High Street, Beckenham to Eastbound traffic (travelling towards Shortlands / Bromley) for two consecutive weekends from Saturday 20/01.

The traffic management is the same temporary one way system which was in place during the Beckenham Improvement works a few years ago: the road will be closed at the War Memorial, with traffic being diverted via Rectory Road into the opposite end of the High Street.

Traffic travelling Westbound on the High Street (towards Penge / Croydon Road) will be unaffected during the works. The High Street between Albemarle Road and Manor Road will remain open to two way traffic during the works.

The works are to install a new water connection into the Travelodge development at Kelsey House.

Bromley Council have asked Residents Associations like ours to help to raise awareness of changes being introduced to the way people vote. The Council advise:

The Elections Act has introduced, amongst other things, the requirement for people to produce certain types of photographic ID in order to vote at a polling station. Full details can be found on the Council’s webpage – www.bromley.gov.uk/VoterID.

Over the coming months further changes are due to take place, including changes to postal and proxy voting. These details can be found at www.bromley.gov.uk/ElectionsAct2022 and will be updated when details are confirmed.