Public questions – Bromley Council Environment Committee, 7 September 2023

Questions from the Public for Oral Response:
1) What are the financial savings and reductions in carbon emissions for the proposed installations of the solar panels at the council owned Spa and Pavilion centres and will the Council use its influence to ensure that Mytime signs off this project?

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Open Letter to Bromley Council on Road Safety, 11 July 2023

Graph showing the number of traffic-free school streets in London boroughs, 2023

To Bromley Council leader Cllr Colin Smith and Portfolio Holder for Transport Cllr Nicholas Bennett,

Today sees the launch of the 2023 Healthy Streets Scorecard, the fifth annual release by the London Healthy Streets Coalition – a group of health, environment and transport campaigners. The media release associated with the scorecard mentions Bromley as one of the boroughs where further action is needed (1). London Borough of Bromley:

  • Is one of three London boroughs with less than 10% of appropriate streets covered by a 20mph speed limit
  • Is bottom of the table for parking controls, controlling parking on fewer than 10% of streets
  • Is named in the media release as having little or no priority for buses, in contrast to many boroughs with 40 to 50% of routes prioritised for buses (with bus lanes or similar)

The Bromley results conclude with the statement that “without serious ambition from the council, Bromley will continue to languish at the bottom end of the Scorecard” (2).

The Healthy Streets Scorecard shows to what extent London Boroughs are putting in place six key measures which will dramatically improve air quality and road safety, boost active lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions (3). Bromley Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport, Councillor Nicholas Bennett, has recently stated publicly that “Bromley does not recognise the value of most measures included in the Healthy Streets Scorecard” (4).

We are publishing this open letter to encourage a large, broad and diverse range of Bromley stakeholders to come together to collectively ask Cllrs Smith and Bennett two questions:

  1. If Bromley residents establish an independent road safety forum as a broad, diverse, inclusive body to replace the Council’s Road Safety Panel which Cllr Bennett disbanded (5), will you engage with this body?
  2. Why does Bromley Council not see value in many of the measures included in the Healthy Streets Scorecard?

To Bromley Council leader Cllr Colin Smith and Portfolio Holder for Transport Cllr Nicholas Bennett,

Today sees the launch of the 2023 Healthy Streets Scorecard, the fifth annual release by the London Healthy Streets Coalition – a group of health, environment and transport campaigners. The media release associated with the scorecard mentions Bromley as one of the boroughs where further action is needed (1). London Borough of Bromley

  • is one of three London boroughs with less than 10% of appropriate streets covered by a 20mph speed limit
  • is bottom of the table for parking controls, controlling parking on fewer than 10% of streets
  • is named in the media release as having little or no priority for buses, in contrast to many boroughs with 40 to 50% of routes prioritised for buses (with bus lanes or similar)

The Bromley results conclude with the statement that “without serious ambition from the council, Bromley will continue to languish at the bottom end of the Scorecard” (2).

The Healthy Streets Scorecard shows to what extent London Boroughs are putting in place six key measures which will dramatically improve air quality and road safety, boost active lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions (3). Bromley Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport, Councillor Nicholas Bennett, has recently stated publicly that “Bromley does not recognise the value of most measures included in the Healthy Streets Scorecard” (4).

We are publishing this open letter to encourage a large, broad and diverse range of Bromley stakeholders to come together to collectively ask Cllrs Smith and Bennett two questions:

  1. If Bromley residents establish an independent road safety forum as a broad, diverse, inclusive body to replace the Council’s Road Safety Panel which Cllr Bennett disbanded (5), will you engage with this body?
  2. Why does Bromley Council not see value in many of the measures included in the Healthy Streets Scorecard?

We would be grateful if Cllrs Smith and Bennett could please indicate their response to these questions in a public statement, circulated on social media channels.

We are asking these questions because we would like to work collaboratively with Bromley Council to improve Bromley’s streets for all road users. We see something collaborative like this forum as a space where new solutions could be discussed and support for planned improvements could be strengthened.

References:
1. 2023 Healthy Streets Scorecard media release
2. 2023 Healthy Streets Scorecard results for London Borough of Bromley
3. Healthy Streets Scorecard indicators explained 
4. Bennett’s responses to public written questions at last Environment Committee 
5. Copy of letter announcing closure of Bromley Council’s Road Safety Panel in 2022

Signed,

  1. Bromley Living Streets
  2. Bromley Cyclists

Details of how to sign this letter:

If you lead a community organisation, business, school, church or faith-based group and would like to add your organisation’s name to the letter, please email us at bromleygroup AT livingstreets.org.uk

If you would like to add your name to the letter as an individual, please click the link below to sign the letter via openletter.earth. We are using an external platform for individual signatures to ensure that GDPR privacy regulations are adhered to:

https://openletter.earth/open-letter-to-bromley-council-on-road-safety-1dec9a0a

Please note – the platform will send you a confirmation email to validate your email address, check your spam folder if this doesn’t appear in your Inbox.

Please consider sharing this letter on social media to spread the word to other residents, businesses and community organisations.

Local Plan – Issues and Options Consultation

Bromley Cyclists / Bromley Living Streets joint submission

In response to the Issues and Options consultation, we have compiled a submission which explains the key issues that Bromley’s Local Plan should address. These issues relate to four sections of the Local Plan consultation document: vision and objectives, housing, employment and retail, transport and public realm.

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Bromley Local Plan: what is a Local Plan, and how can I respond to the Issues and Options consultation?

Concerned about new developments expanding into Green Belt areas in Bromley? Would you like public spaces and streets that are safer for walking and cycling? Or maybe you are worried about whether we are doing enough about air pollution or responding to the climate crisis? Have your say by responding to Bromley Council’s consultation on the borough’s Local Plan.

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Bromley Clean Air Day Webinar

Happy Clean Air Day 2023! You may be aware that London has had an episode of high air pollution this week, which makes today even more important even if it might be more appropriate to call today ‘not clean air day’ or ‘not yet clean air day’. I’m writing to you now to remind you of a couple of things you can do easily to take care and take action.

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Public questions – Bromley Council Environment Committee, 16 March 2023

Questions from the Public for Oral Response:

1) Agenda Item 13b – BECKENHAM: SOUTHEND ROAD, PARK ROAD, FOXGROVE ROAD SAFETY SCHEME (Report No: ES20241)
The UK design manual for roundabouts states a 4-arm mini-roundabout should not be used where the peak traffic flows at the junction exceed 500 vehicles an hour. The Southend/Foxgrove/Park Road junction has more than three times this flow. How can the Council bring forward a scheme that breaches this guidance?

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