Bromley Council still wants to shut down an Orpington adult education centre after losing a court battle that quashed a decision over its closure.
Earlier this month, a disabled user of the Poverest Adult Education Centre won his legal fight to keep the centre open as the Court of Appeal found the council acted unlawfully when it failed to consult with centre users before deciding to close it.
The ruling—described as a “historic victory for disability rights in Bromley” by the user’s father—prevented the facility’s closure, but only temporarily.
On Thursday, July 23, Bromley Council’s Development Control Committee approved a planning application to demolish the centre and build 42 affordable homes on its land.
Although the council cannot close the centre until it has carried out the court mandated consultation, it has still approved plans to knock down Poverest so that the project can move forward if the same conclusion is reached after the rerun consultation.
Before the committee discussed the Poverest planning application—submitted by Bromley Council’s own housebuilders—committee chair Alexa Michael asked whether the recent Court of Appeal ruling should influence their decision.
The committee’s legal advisor said the court case was “not relevant” and that it was important the planning application was legally determined “one way or another”.
Bromley Council’s Assistant Director of Culture and Regeneration, Lydia Lee, spoke in support of the application, saying the 42-home scheme would deliver “much needed” affordable homes during a “severe shortage” of housing.
She said the South East London authority had taken a “strategic decision” when it decided to close the adult education centre and move its SEND services to the Kentwood Adult Education Centre in Penge – 8.2 miles away.
All but one councillor voted in favour of the proposal. Cllr Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, Labour member for Penge and Cator, abstained as he felt it was “disrespectful” to centre users to approve the demolition of Poverest before the consultation had taken place.
The Poverest Adult Education Centre offers a range of part-time adult education courses ranging from arts and crafts and cookery to computing and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). About half of the centre’s current learning hours are for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.
The family of one service user launched a legal battle to keep the centre open when Bromley Council announced its intention to close it, claiming the authority did not properly consult with centre users.
The High Court sided with the council, but the Court of Appeal sided with the family.
Lord Justice Dingemans said: “The evidence showed that for some of them the Poverest Centre was a centre of their lives outside their homes.
“It was irrational to close the Poverest Centre without first consulting the 99 LLDD users of the Poverest Centre and their carers.
“That plainly prejudiced them, and is the basis for finding that there was a legitimate expectation of consultation before closure of the Poverest Centre.”
Although the Court of Appeal quashed the closure, Bromley Council now only needs to conduct a legally sound consultation with centre users in order to close Poverest and carry out its demolition.
The council has not yet announced when it will carry out the consultation.
