Cllr. Josh Coldspring-White

Croydon Road Recreation Ground
A sustainable planting programme is being trialled at ten locations in the borough, creating regenerative flowerbeds that provide environmental benefits year after year.

This new trial has seen carefully selected flowerbeds in the borough planted by the council’s grounds maintenance contractors idverde, with a mix of shrubs, flowering plants and herbs. Whilst some of the flowerbeds have been planted with prairie planting styles, others have been designed specifically for pollinators, depending on the local conditions of the bed itself. Critically, all plants have been selected to be of value to pollinators and has avoided planting anything of an invasive nature.

Councillor Will Rowlands, Executive Councillor for Environment says, “Our planting and flower beds have helped improve the street scene and our parks too, but we are always looking at ways of improving what we do. As part of this sustainable planting trial, we are planting shrubs and flowers such as Lavender, Salvia and Rudbeckia that will bring visual delight all year, without requiring intense maintenance and watering like bedding flowers do. While the new plants also help to encourage biodiversity, this approach looks to support the clean, green and beautiful garden of London we call home better, both financially and environmentally. This planting trial is in its early stages, and we be monitoring progress in the coming months with feedback from local people before looking at this further.”

The sustainable planting trial began in November 2023 and will run for a three-year period. During that time, Bromley Council will assess the suitability of the planting locations, their impact on biodiversity and will seek to collect feedback from residents on the effect on the environment.

At present, the council is responsible for over a hundred traditional seasonal flower beds across the borough measuring almost 6,900m2 (1.7 acres), and containing over 150,000 bedding plants. The ten trial sites represent approximately 10 per cent of the total bedding area.

These carefully chosen sites are:

  • Waterman’s Square, Penge (Penge and Cator)
  • Elmers End Green, Elmers End (Kelsey and Eden Park)
  • Betts Park, Anerley (Crystal Palace and Anerley)
  • Kelsey Park, Beckenham (Kelsey and Eden Park)
  • St Mary Cray High Street, St. Mary Cray (St Mary Cray)
  • Shortlands Green, Shortlands (Shortlands and Park Langley)
  • Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham (Kelsey and Eden Park)
  • Coney Hall Recreation Ground, Coney Hall (Hayes & Coney Hall)
  • Beds surrounding Coney Hall Roundabout, Glebe Way (Hayes and Coney Hall/West Wickham)
  • Chislehurst High Street, Chislehurst (Chislehurst)


Bromley Council are keen to hear residents’ thoughts about the sustainable planting trial. They would like to hear about views on how the planting in the key areas is going, what residents think of the trial in general, and where else in the borough would benefit from further trial sites.

Residents can complete the survey before November 2024 to let the council know your thoughts. The survey can be completed more than once, so residents can update the council with their views.

Complete the Survey by heading to the sustainable planting trial webpage at www.bromley.gov.uk/SustainablePlanting