Bromley’s historic archives are to get a new home, after plans to demolish their existing site and build a larger modern building were approved by the local council.
An enlarged archive store is needed in part because the council closed the local museum a decade ago, and the replacement space provided in Bromley library is too small to hold the entire collection. The library is also about to move to a new location, and the new site will not be able to house the book archive.
The museum archive is currently housed in an old building just inside Priory Gardens in Orpington town centre, an area that is also used for park storage.
The council now plans to replace the old building with a much larger one that will house the archive and provide space for expansion.
The plans were not without controversy though, with the local park friends group petitioning to block it, arguing that the replacement building is too large for the park. The council’s counterargument was that while it occupies more of the service yard, the height is actually lower, so it would be less noticeable than the existing pitched roof structure.
There were some changes made during the consultation, such as reducing the site’s overall footprint to create new publicly accessible open space linked to Priory Gardens and enhancing the landscaping and biodiversity proposals.
Additional practical improvements had also been incorporated, such as tool storage for the Friends Growing Space, a managed toilet for users of the archive, museum, art building and growing space, and the introduction of a canopy to support outdoor educational and community activities.
The decision to grant planning permission was made last week, subject to the conditions above.
Councillor Shaun Slator, Chairman of Plans Sub-Committee No.1 said, “We were satisfied that there was a statutory need for these facilities, with the design following the specific requirements. I am glad that the development increases the amount of publicly accessible open space within Priory Gardens and the community use is further strengthened through the retention of the Friends Growing Space and the addition of a disabled toilet for public use during events in the Gardens.”
