The happiest place in outer London and key to your investment dreams
The number of regeneration proposals soon to be sanctioned in Bromley is staggering. The shopping district, already the recipient of a £5.5 million rebranding and facade facelift is getting a further 24 million pounds pumped into its foundations. The council are thinking big, and going full steam ahead with plans to rival nearby Croydon’s retail offerings.
Bromley’s town planners look set to cement the cafe culture and historic regeneration already evidenced in their successful reinvention of Bromley North Village. The celebration of independent shops and outdoor dining fused with more green spaces and even solar panelled pavements make it a pleasant and environmentally minded place to live. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has taken notice of Bromley’s big ambitions and has just announced plans to designate the town as an area of opportunity in the London Plan. When this intention is solidified early in 2015 Bromley will see further investment and the creation of up to 2000 new jobs as the full force of Mayoral office planning is focused on the region. It doesn’t stop there, Transport for London is discussing options for further transport links and wants to add an Underground extension by way of the Bakerloo line and even the Docklands Light Railway to the already impressive portfolio of trams, Overground, rail and bus links available in the borough.
With all this investment taking place, it’s no wonder that people in Bromley were found by a recent survey to be the happiest in outer London. These findings, coupled with the up and coming affluence of the area surely solidifies Bromley’s status as one of the most desirable locations in Greater London.
But what makes it even more attractive to investors is the real lack of rental properties when compared to the London average. The large number of owner-occupiers in the area (72%) means that only 12% of properties are. That means Bromley property investment is perfect for you if you're looking for a London regeneration area for your portfolio.
Economy & Employment
Bromley’s councillor Peter Morgan states “Bromley is a great place to do business. An independent survey of how happy people are shows Kensington and Chelsea first, followed by Bromley, as people are happy to work and live here.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson has put forward Bromley town centre as an area of opportunity in the upcoming London Plan. When this proposal is confirmed in early 2015 the area will see a huge boost financially this is where the bulk of the Mayor’s planning focus will be aimed with an additional 5,000 jobs also created.
Further, Bromley is following in the footsteps of its neighbour Orpington to become a Business Improvement District and a conglomerate of local businesses are working to realise this goal by 2015. The scheme will allow focused funding of local initiatives through increased tax revenue.
Nearby Biggin Hill Airport, London ’s premier business airport has announced it will be creating 2,300 new jobs over the next 15 years. The transport hub is already home to 65 companies whose employees live in the surrounding areas.
Investment
Right now the community is building on the success of Bromley North Village, a collection of independent boutiques which was revamped following a shop front improvement scheme earlier in the year.
The southern end of the town centre is well into its final year of redevelopment; the £90million St Mark’s Square transformation is due for completion in 2015. Further, the recently announced £24 million investment in the now renamed into Bromley will amply position it to take its rival’s crown. Reinvention plans include a 5 screen boutique cinema complete with waiter service and a restaurant terrace for alfresco dining due to launch in 2015.
A major change in Bromley’s transport infrastructure is promised as Transport for London are currently considering options to expand the Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink and both the Overground and Bakerloo line into the heart of town.
As High Speed 1 development have shown in other parts of the capital, reinforcing transport links also makes new inroads for business, boosting jobs and sending property prices skyrocketing by the time the plans come to fruition. Government projections for HS1 anticipated up to 14.4% in house price increases as a direct result of better transport.
Transport
The fast rail service from Bromley South to London Victoria can see you reach your destination in just 16 minutes and the area has similar links to Blackfriars. West Bromley offers Tramlink to Croydon and Wimbledon and other parts of the borough are also served by the London Overground network which circles the city. When travelling by road, Bromley easily connects to the M25 by way of the A20 and A21 which grants drivers access to London and the greater UK road network. London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports are all within easy reach of Bromley and the town is uniquely placed for swift access to the business and corporate hub that is Biggin Hill airport.
Education
Bromley has 19 primary schools, 6 secondary schools, 5 independent schools and a further and higher education college.
Notable schools include:
Braeside Preparatory School has a co-ed intake ages 2-11 and was rated Outstanding in all areas by a recent Ofsted inspection.
Bromley High School is an independent girls’ school that boasts a 100% A*-C pass rate in all subjects for 2014.; Bromley College is a centre of further and higher education which recently launched a Hospitality, Food and Enterprise Career College for 14-19-year-olds that were praised by the nation’s top chefs. The college, spread across two campuses, is also one of the borough’s biggest employers. 2016 sees the college expanding as they open one of the UK’s first university technical colleges which will create further jobs and attract yet more people to the area.
Transport links also provide easy access to world-leading universities found in central London, such as King’s College London and University College London.
Shops & Leisure
Bromley’s Glades Shopping Centre was a pioneer of outer London retail in the early 1990s. The council’s continued commitment to this tradition of consumer excellence is seen in the centre’s recent transformation into Bromley attracting high-end retailers such as Apple Store and The White Company, to source the 1.3million catchment of shoppers that already visit the area. This will be further solidified by the upcoming £24 million investment that includes a 5 screen waiter serviced cinema and other value-added consumer attractions.
Building on the earlier success of regenerating Bromley north into an arcade of independent shops, unique boutiques and eating establishments bringing urban cafe culture to the 800-year-old market traditions already present in Bromley.
Bromley also has a lot to offer in terms of leisure. There are 4 non-league football clubs in the borough to choose from and 4 nearby golf clubs if you prefer to pitch and putt rather than shoot and score. Another local draw is the thriving Churchill Theatre whose productions are often so popular that they transfer to the West End.
