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Executive, Resources and Contracts Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee - Monday 23 June 2025 7.00 pm
June 23, 2025 View on council websiteSummary
The Executive, Resources and Contracts Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee met on 23 June 2025, and agreed to support recommendations regarding treasury management, building maintenance contracts, the Operational Property Review, and a temporary accommodation acquisition programme. The committee also received updates on fire safety and information technology, and discussed the forward plan of key decisions.
Fire Safety Action Plan
Following concerns raised at the previous meeting, the Head of Corporate Health and Safety and the Head of Facilities Management provided an update on the progress of the Fire Safety Action Plan. All managers are to be trained as fire wardens, with training expected to be completed by the end of July. Quarterly reports on fire safety will also be made to the Corporate Leadership Team. Councillor David Cartwright QFSM, Chairman, Public Protection & Enforcement PDS Committee, who has expertise in this area, reviewed the action plan and commended the progress made. The committee requested that the action plan be shared with them following a meeting with Councillor Cartwright.
Treasury Management Annual Performance
The committee supported the recommendations of the Treasury Management Annual Performance Report, which summarised treasury management activity in the fourth quarter of 2024/25 and included the annual report for the whole year. Investments as of 31 March 2025 totalled £239.4 million, with no external borrowing. For comparison, the balance of investments was £302.8 million as of 31 December 2024, and £326.9 million as of 31 March 2024.
The report stated that the Council has monies available for treasury management investment as a result of:
- Positive cash flow
- Receipts (mainly from Government) received in advance of payments being made
- Capital receipts not yet utilised to fund capital expenditure
- Provisions made in the accounts for liabilities e.g. provision for outstanding legal cases which have not yet materialised
- General and earmarked reserves retained by the Council.
The report noted that the Council had also identified an alternative investment strategy relating to property investment. To date, this has resulted in actual and planned acquisitions which generated a cumulative total of £36.3m between 2016/17 and 2022/23, £6.4m in 23/24 and £5.2m in 2024/25.
Award of Contracts for Building Maintenance and Repairs
The committee supported the recommendations to award contracts for building fabric maintenance and repairs, mechanical maintenance and repairs, and electrical maintenance and repairs for the council's wider operational estate. The Head of Facilities Management said that the proposed contract had inbuilt key performance indicators (KPIs), which did not exist in the previous contract, and would enable more robust contract management. They added that a fabric contract was being put in place, which had not been the case with the old Civic Centre, and that this would deliver better value for money. The Head of Facilities Management confirmed that responsibility for the oversight of the maintenance contract rested with the in-house Client Team, who would manage the external contracts completing physical works. There would be monthly KPI meetings and daily contact regarding the progress of any works being undertaken. Annual financial checks would be undertaken on contractors, and no upfront payments would be made.
Operational Property Review
The committee supported the recommendations to award a construction contract to implement repair and maintenance works approved within the Operational Property Review (OPR) report for the Burnt Ash Children & Family Centre and Griffins Sensory Support Service for Hearing Impairment. A member noted that ward member comments had not been reflected in the report, but that ward members were supportive of the proposals.
Temporary Accommodation Acquisition Programme
The committee supported the recommendations for a temporary accommodation acquisition programme. The programme would provide temporary accommodation through the acquisition of blocks of residential property on a leasehold basis. This is intended to unlock revenue savings and protect the council from spiralling costs from the procurement of nightly paid accommodation within the private market. The paper sought a blanket delegated authority so that sites may be acquired as and when they became available and when commercially advantageous terms could be agreed which would provide for net savings subject to a maximum of 300 units. The Assistant Director for Strategic Property noted that there were rigorous processes in place for reviewing the use of all council-owned sites. They added that the intention was to take the benefit of the sites for a defined period of time. The Assistant Director for Strategic Property explained that one of the challenges was the use as Temporary Accommodation. Had the Council been purchasing residential property, capital appreciation would have been built into the budget; however, opportunities were more limited in relation to temporary accommodation. The Assistant Director also confirmed that the Council's Strategic Property Team had been working closely with the Housing Team to develop the proposals, and that wider needs such as mental health and wellbeing had been considered by the Housing Team during the development of proposals. The Assistant Director confirmed that officers were confident that 300 available units could be identified, and that £1m upfront capital funding was being sought to cover costs such as stamp duty1 and professional fees. A member requested that details of anticipated stamp duty costs be provided following the meeting.
Croydon Road SE20
The committee supported the recommendations regarding the dangerous structure at 164-168 Croydon Road, subject to a response to the committee's questions being provided. The buildings, including the former Mitre public house, were identified as being in a seriously dangerous condition involving risk of imminent collapse following a specialist structural engineer's survey. Emergency demolition had been implemented by the council to prevent danger to the public. A local ward member noted that although ward councillors had been consulted about the issue itself, they had not been consulted about the content of the report. Another member expressed concerns around governance processes and the lack of scrutiny, noting that this was the second report in two meetings that had been published late and where officers had not been present to answer questions. The committee requested that responses to the following questions be provided prior to the meeting of the Executive:
- What happened between September 2024 and June 2025?
- Why was there no risk assessment at an earlier stage identifying the extent of the number of properties requiring evacuation?
- Why were neighbours and occupants not kept informed?
- Why wasn't a request for a structural survey submitted until June 2025 when issues were known in October 2024?
- To where have occupants been evacuated? Can the council recoup any costs incurred?
- What caused the problems with the building?
- Can an analysis of any legal risks arising from further delay be provided?
IT Update
The Assistant Director for IT attended the meeting and responded to questions from the committee. The Assistant Director highlighted that it was likely that the Cyber Security risk would always remain red due to the severity of the impact of any potential cyber stack on the day-to-day operation of the council.
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Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax paid when purchasing a property or land in England and Northern Ireland. ↩
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