London Borough of Bromley

The London Borough of Bromley is one of the 32 London Boroughs (plus the City) which make up Greater London. London Borough of Bromley is south of the River Thames, which flows through London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. Bromley is the principal town in the London Borough of Bromley. Douglas Patterson is the Chief Executive Officer of the local authority, Bromley London Borough Council.

Geography
The borough is the largest in London by area and occupies 59 sqmi, of which the majority is Metropolitan Green Belt land. It is also perhaps the most rural.

Most of the population lives in the north and west of the borough, with an outlier at Biggin Hill in the far south. The borough shares borders with the London Boroughs of Lewisham and Greenwich to the North, Bexley to the North East, Southwark and Lambeth to the North West, as well as Croydon to the West. It also borders the Sevenoaks District of Kent to the East and South, and the Tandridge District of Surrey to the South West.

Westerham Heights, the highest point in London at an altitude of 245 metres, is located on the southern boundary. The Prime Meridian passes through Bromley.

History
The borough was formed, as were all other London boroughs, on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It comprised the former area of the Municipal Borough of Bromley, the Municipal Borough of Beckenham, Penge Urban District, Orpington Urban District and the Chislehurst part of Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District, which was transferred from Kent to Greater London.

In 1969, after a local campaign, the village of Knockholt was transferred back to Kent to become part of the Sevenoaks Rural District and later Sevenoaks District. Before 1965 it had been part of the Orpington Urban District.

Districts
The borough is partly urban and partly rural, the former to the north and very much part of the built-up area of suburban London.

The principal parts of the northern section, from west to east, are Beckenham, which includes Eden Park and Elmers End; Bromley with Bickley, Bromley Park and Bromley Common, Park Langley, Plaistow, Shortlands, and Southborough; Chislehurst, with Elmstead and Sundridge. The built-up area around Orpington not only encompasses its direct outskirts of Chelsfield, Crofton, Derry Downs, Goddington, Kevingtown, and Petts Wood; it also includes the erstwhile separate settlements of Farnborough, Green Street Green, Pratts Bottom, St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray. Other smaller suburban areas include Anerley and nearby Crystal Palace; and Penge. In addition, parts of Mottingham, Sydenham, Swanley and Ruxley lie within the borough boundaries.

There are two main built-up areas in the southern part of the borough: Hayes and West Wickham. Biggin Hill, Downe and Keston with Leaves Green and Nash are separate, smaller, rural settlements.

Local attractions include Down House (the home of Charles Darwin), Chislehurst Caves, Holwood House (the home of William Pitt the Younger), Crofton Roman Villa, and the site of The Crystal Palace.

Governance
Bromley is divided into 22 wards with a total of 60 council seats. These are currently represented by:
 * Conservative: 53
 * Liberal Democrat: 4
 * Labour: 3

Bromley was under Conservative control from its creation until the local elections of 7 May 1998 when a Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition assumed power. After a number of by-elections and a defection, the Conservatives regained control on 5 July 2001.

The 22 wards are shown on the accompanying map. Ward names often straddle the named settlements and suburban areas above: their boundaries are fixed, whereas the latter are not.

Demographics
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 8,944. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 17,192 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased. The population peaked in the 1970s, when industry began to relocate from London.

In the 2001 Census, the borough had a population of 295,532 – of whom 141,785 were male, and 153,747 female. All major religions are represented, but of those stating a choice, 72.03% described themselves as Christian, and 16.34% as having no religion. Of the population, 43.47% were in full-time employment and 11.06% in part-time employment – compared to a London average of 42.64% and 8.62%, respectively. Residents were predominantly owner-occupiers, with 32.53% owning their house outright, and a further 42.73% owning with a mortgage. Only 1.42% were in local authority housing, with a further 12.74% renting from a housing association, or other registered social landlord.

Transport
Bromley is one of only six London Boroughs not to have at least one London Underground station within its boundaries. However, the borough has many railway stations served by London Overground, Southeastern and Southern. The borough also has several stops on the London Tramlink network.

National Rail stations:
 * Crystal Palace
 * Birkbeck
 * Beckenham Junction
 * Shortlands
 * Bromley North
 * Bromley South
 * St Mary Cray
 * Sundridge Park
 * Ravensbourne
 * Bickley
 * Elmstead Woods
 * Chislehurst
 * Petts Wood
 * Orpington
 * Chelsfield
 * Knockholt
 * Kent House
 * Penge East
 * Penge West
 * Anerley
 * Lower Sydenham (Shared with Lewisham)
 * New Beckenham
 * Clock House
 * Elmers End
 * Eden Park
 * West Wickham
 * Hayes

Tramlink stops:
 * Beckenham Junction
 * Beckenham Road
 * Avenue Road
 * Birkbeck
 * Elmers End

Sport and Leisure
The Borough has several sporting clubs:
 * Bromley F.C. a Non-League football club
 * Cray Wanderers F.C. a Non-League football club
 * Orpington F.C. a Non-League football club
 * Holmesdale F.C. a Non-League football club
 * Greenwich Borough F.C. a Non-League football club
 * Beckenham Town F.C. a Non-League football club

Crime
Crime rates in Bromley are generally higher than the national average, but it is considered one of the safest London boroughs.

London Fire Brigade
London Fire Brigade has four fire stations within the London Borough of Bromley. The borough is the largest in the city: about 150 km2. With just one pumping appliance, Orpington has one of the largest areas to cover in London, measuring 46.7 km2. In 2006/2007, Orpington attended 1,308 incidents. There is also a high volume pump at the station. Beckenham, Bromley and Biggin Hill cover the rest of the borough with four pumping appliances and a hose layer.

In 2006/2007 just under 4000 incidents were attended in the borough. Noticeably, compared to 2005/2006 there was an 11% decrease in special service calls (road traffic collisions, chemical incidents, flooding etc.).

Twin towns

 * 🇩🇪 Neuwied, Germany.