I recognise we need more homes, but the Government’s targets for Bromley are both unfair and unachievable. London is supposed to deliver more than a quarter of Labour’s 1.5 million homes target, yet the allocation system is fundamentally flawed. It forces development onto poorly connected green belt in outer London while protecting vast swathes of brownfield industrial land in inner London, with excellent public transport. This fails to build homes where demand is highest and infrastructure already exists, while irreparably damaging our greenbelt.
Sadiq Khan’s London Plan—more than 500 pages and 123 policies—effectively bans housebuilding on brownfield sites in inner London. We face the absurd situation where thousands of homes are being forced onto farmers’ fields in Bromley with limited transport links, while well-connected urban sites remain protected. This isn’t just wrong, it’s unworkable.
The unfairness becomes stark when you examine the Government’s connectivity tool. Land proposed for development at Biggin Hill and Hayes Farm is classified as equally well-connected as the Greenwich Peninsula. Anyone familiar with these areas knows this is nonsensical — exposing how flawed the methodology behind these targets truly is.
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Just before Christmas, Labour announced further pressure on the greenbelt with “a default yes for suitable proposals for development of land around rail stations, including on greenbelt land”, putting Bromley at the forefront of inappropriate overdevelopment.
I support a brownfield-first approach to building in London. There are appropriate sites for development in our borough, but they must have the infrastructure, transport connections, and services to support new communities. Indiscriminate targets that ignore these realities are neither fair to Bromley nor achievable without destroying our treasured green spaces.
The strength of local feeling was clear when I joined residents at a community meeting in Biggin Hill opposing inappropriate development. The message was unequivocal: we want homes built where they’re needed, not green spaces destroyed where infrastructure cannot cope. Biggin Hill has a fantastic champion in councillor Sophie Dunbar – along with councillor Stevens – who has been a strong voice for protecting our greenbelt while supporting appropriate development. Councillor Dunbar’s decision to join the Bromley Conservatives underlines our commitment to this balanced approach.
This isn’t just about saying no—it’s about demanding better. When Conservatives on the London Assembly tabled a motion opposing Sadiq Khan’s plans to build on our Greenbelt last June, it was defeated by just one vote. That deciding vote came from Alex Wilson AM, the leader of Reform’s Assembly group. Reform don’t have the answers when it matters.
It is the Bromley Conservative team that will fight for appropriate development that serves our community. I will continue challenging these unfair and unachievable targets in Parliament, Tom Turrell will continue this work in the Assembly, but we need a strong team of Conservative councillors in Bromley too.
- Peter Fortune is Conservative MP for Bromley and Biggin Hill.
