# Bromley London Borough Council

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. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894, which saw the board replaced by an urban district council. 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.
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. 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). The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.
The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Bromley".
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.
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.

## 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. 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.

## Political control

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:
| 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:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | Notes |
| Michael Neubert | 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 | 1998 | 1999 | Joint leaders |
| Chris Maines | Liberal Democrats | 1999 | 2001 | Joint leaders |
| John Holbrook | Labour | 1999 | 2001 | Joint leaders |
| Michael Tickner | Conservative | 2001 | 2003 | |
| Russell Mellor | Conservative | 2003 | 2004 | |
| Stephen Carr | Conservative | 2004 | 15 Sep 2017 | |
| Colin Smith | Conservative | 25 Sep 2017 | | |

## 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.
Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 35 |
| | Labour | 12 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 |
| | Independent | 3 |
| | Chislehurst Matters | 3 |
| Total | 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. 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. The council acquired the building in the early 1980s and built a large extension, moving into the enlarged complex in 1982.
The council is now based at the Civic Centre at Churchill Court, having moved from Bromley Palace in December 2024. Churchill Court had been built in 1988 as the headquarters of Churchill Insurance, part of Direct Line Group.