Plans to add parking charges to a park in Bromley have been scrapped by the council after opposition from a local athletics club.
The club had claimed the charges would have had a ‘disastrous’ effect on its future, but a clause in its lease agreement has quashed the authority’s plans anyway.
Bromley Council had approved a scheme last week to add charging for the car park in Norman Park in an effort to generate £35,000 a year for the authority. However, following an enquiry by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the council has confirmed it will not be going ahead with the planned charges after reviewing its lease agreement with Blackheath & Bromley Harriers Athletics Club.
The lease, seen by the LDRS, states that employees, contractors and visitors of the club have the right to use the car park without charge.
It also said that the landlord for the site, Bromley Council, should not impose fees for vehicles parking in the car park.
Conservative Councillor Nicholas Bennett, Executive Councillor for Transport, Highways & Road Safety told the LDRS: “I was made aware shortly before the PDS Committee meeting of the existence of a lease. Consequently, I amended the recommendation at the meeting so that a discussion could take place with the lessee.”
He added: “Having now seen and read a copy of the lease I have decided that it would not be right to proceed with the proposal. As a public body we must always stand by any agreements that are made.”
Blackheath & Bromley Harriers was founded in 1869 and has produced several nationally recognised athletes, including Dina Asher-Smith who has achieved three Olympic medals for Great Britain since 2016. The track in the park has been in use since 1981, with the club being given planning permission in December 2019 to build a new clubhouse and sports centre, which it formally moved into in February 2023.
Tim Soutar, a trustee of the athletics club, told the LDRS: “While it’s unfortunate that we weren’t approached before the proposal became public, I’m sure that the many users of the Norman Park Community Centre and Track will be relieved to learn that it’s to go no further.”
He added: “When we originally agreed to take on responsibility for the track, we knew we would need to make a major investment to expand the facilities to secure a sustainable future based on community use. Ensuring free parking for users was a key element of the business plan and, accordingly, a red line during our lease negotiations. Since its opening less than two years ago, the centre has proved extremely popular and we hope it will remain so for many years to come.”
Chris Hilditch is a trustee of Norman Park Track Management, who run the park’s athletic track on behalf of the club. He said that aside from the club’s athletics teams, the community centre is used for art classes, a dementia hub, sign language courses and a variety of exercise classes. The club had stated that charges for the car park would have had a ‘disastrous’ effect on its future by adding a further financial burden to individuals using the facilities.
Mr Hildtich told the LDRS: “A lot of the things that we do here are very price and footfall sensitive. For instance, we need footfall from the cafe to operate and generate revenue.”
Regarding the charges, he added: “[Parents] would be looking at probably double the amount they would be paying for their kids to be here and that would definitely impact the amount that comes along. Of course, it would impact the end of the spectrum which are the poorest because they’re the ones that can’t afford it and I feel very uncomfortable with that as a prospect.”
The U-turn on the decision also follows a petition against the scheme which was signed by over 5,700 residents. Residents living near the park told the LDRS that they were concerned about the effect the charging would have had on traffic and parking on local streets such as Hayes Lane, where congestion is already ‘crazy’.
Locals said the car park is frequently full from people doing activities such as parkrun. Bromley Mencap, a charity based in Norman Park that supports disabled residents, said it was concerned that the charges would impact both its staff and clients by creating barriers to the outdoor space.
Anna McEwen, CEO of Bromley Mencap, told the LDRS: “We are delighted, and relieved, to hear that the council has made the decision not to proceed with the parking charges proposal at Norman Park. This would have had a detrimental impact on our day service for adults with learning disabilities and the social enterprises (coffee kiosk and bike loan scheme) that we run within the park that rely on visitors to the park.”
She added: “I am very happy that residents, including the people we support, are able to continue to use the park and facilities within it without being charged to park.”
