A disabled man has won a court battle to prevent the closure of a Bromley adult education centre he has used for 14 years.
Jerome, who has been anonymised by court order, is in his 30s and has learning disabilities, atypical autism and epilepsy.
He is a regular user of the Poverest Adult Education Centre in Poverest Road, Orpington.
His family launched a legal fight to prevent its closure when Bromley Council announced its intention to replace it with housing two years ago.
Last week, the Court of Appeal sided with Jerome and quashed the authority’s decision to close the centre and move its services several miles away.
Jerome’s father said: “This college is a second home to my son. This is a historic victory for disability rights in Bromley.”
Jerome, acting with the help of his father and a litigation friend, sought an order to prevent the centre’s closure.
Due to his complex needs, Jerome has visited Poverest multiple days a week for the last 14 years.
Poverest offers a range of part-time adult education courses ranging from arts and crafts and cookery to computing and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
About half of the centre’s learning hours are for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities (LLDD).
According to court documents, Jerome’s continued use of the centre has enabled him to develop relationships with others and stopped him from becoming socially isolated.
The main ground of his claim for a judicial review of the council’s closure decision was that there had been an unlawful failure to consult with him and 98 other regular centre users with LLDD.
A deputy High Court Judge dismissed Jerome’s claim in January despite finding in his favour on a number of important issues, including that the council had been unlawful in its lack of consultation.
However, the judge found it was highly likely the outcome would not be substantially different if consultation had occurred.
Jerome’s family appealed this decision, and his claim was heard by three judges sitting in the Court of Appeal on July 10.
Lord Justice Dingemans found that although it was highly likely that a consultation would not have changed the closure outcome, it was possible that it could have influenced the council’s decision-making process if it had taken place.
In his decision, he said: “The evidence showed that for some of them the Poverest Centre was a centre of their lives outside their homes.
“It was irrational to close the Poverest Centre without first consulting the 99 LLDD users of the Poverest Centre and their carers.
"That plainly prejudiced them, and is the basis for finding that there was a legitimate expectation of consultation before closure of the Poverest Centre.”
The three judges allowed Jerome’s appeal and quashed the council’s decision to close the Poverest Centre.
If the council still wishes to close Poverest, it must conduct a consultation with its users and their carers before it decides to do so.
Solicitor Basmah Sahib, who represented Jerome as part of Bindmans’ public law team, said: “I remain inspired by the way the local community came together to challenge the closure of this local LLDD provision.
“We’re very grateful for this incredibly helpful ruling from a senior court, which has confirmed that disabled people should be consulted before the services that they depend upon are withdrawn.
“The Poverest Centre will remain open and the students—and their families—must be given an opportunity to make their concerns known to the council.
“The ruling confirms that they had a right to be heard all along; and the Court of Appeal has acknowledged that what the students and their families have to say is capable of making a difference.”
Bromley Council moved to close the Poverest Centre after deciding the cost of repairing and refurbishing it was too expensive.
The authority wanted to move its SEND services to the Kentwood Adult Education Centre in Penge – 8.2 miles away.
Bromley submitted a planning application in December 2025 to demolish the Poverest Centre to build 44 'affordable' homes on the land in a £23.7m scheme that is part of its Bromley Homes for Bromley People programme.
A council spokesperson said: “We will examine the judgment carefully, but it is disappointing that this decision is likely to impact or delay improvements to a service designed to benefit more residents across the borough, as well as the delivery of much-needed additional housing.
“The council had previously confirmed to service users that existing provision would continue until the planned closure of the Poverest Centre in summer 2027.
“Consultation on the future hub-and-spoke model, including proposed courses and locations, was intended to take place during the 2026/27 academic year. We will update service users and residents on the council’s plans in due course.”
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