PICTURED: A new look for Bromley South (From This Is Local London)

Bromley South Central plans submitted to council

1:25pm Tuesday 10th January 2012 in News

A major cinema, restaurant and apartment development is in the pipeline for Bromley South. DAVID MILLS looks at the plans.

THESE pictures show how the face of Bromley town centre will be transformed should a massive multimillion residential and leisure development go ahead.

Plans by the Cathedral Group, dubbed Bromley South Central, have been submitted to Bromley Council and it is hoped they will be considered in March or April.

The 24-storey £80m development at the Westmoreland Road car park site will come with a 130-bedroom hotel, 200 apartments, 25,000 sq ft of cafes and restaurants along with a nine screen multiplex cinema.

Five of these storeys will be underground.

There will also be a landscaped public square and a new 400 space underground car park.

Subject to planning permission, building work is set to be completed in 2014.

Cathedral Group expects the development to create 370 jobs and inject £300m into the local economy over the next 10 years.

A consultation last summer over the proposals found 80 per cent of the survey's 400 respondents supported the idea of a cinema although some were worried about the overall loss of around 180 parking spaces.

But the Bromley Civic Society will be calling on the council to reject the plans.

Chairman Tony Banfield said: "We're unhappy with the height of the building. It's unacceptable in relation to the adjacent housing.

"We are not opposed to a development in principle, we would welcome it - the site is ripe for it. But it's the wrong sort - it's too big and the wrong kind of mix."

Mr Banfield was also concerned about the impact a second cinema would have on the existing Empire Cinema in Bromley High Street.

Cathedral Group director Martyn Evans said: “It is not our intention to harm any existing business, including the Empire Cinema, as a consequence of the proposed development which, on the contrary, will create hundreds of local jobs.

"No one from the Empire Group has contacted us with concerns over the proposals and we see no reason why, in common with other London boroughs, two cinemas cannot co-exist and provide entertainment in different parts of the town."

Regarding the development's height, Cathedral said it had undertaken detailed analysis to ensure minimal impact to neighbouring properties and that the proposed western arm of the building is not "for the most part higher than the existing car park".

Larger versions of the images are available to view in our picture gallery.