The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was greeted with anger and heckling when he held a public debate in Bromley – the borough with the fewest of his voters.A 400-strong crowd put their questions to Mr Livingstone about everything from police numbers and safety to planning powers and the environment. Danny Boyle reports.

COUNCIL tax payers will not foot the bill for the regeneration and restoration of Crystal Palace Park.

That’s the promise Mr Livington made to Bromley's residents after an electronic vote revealed 70 per cent of people voted against funding the project.

But Ken Livingstone’s “only” alternative – to develop houses in some of the grounds – proved equally unpopular.

The argument, including cries of “build them somewhere else” and “at least keep somewhere sacred”, got so heated that one man walked out of the debate.

The plans, put forward by the London Development Agency (LDA), include turning the National Sports Centre into an indoor hockey and five-a-side football venue.

John Payne, chairman of Crystal Palace Community Association, said: “The plans for Crystal Palace Park have been nothing but a disaster.”

A sports centre, originally planned to be built before the 2012 London Olympics, has already been put on hold until after the games.

This has left the LDA and its boss, the Mayor of London, with a further headache because the current pool may not last that long.

Mr Payne said: “Plans to build a sports centre were postponed until after the Olympics without public consultation. We could have had something wonderful for the park, but the Olympics have been deemed more important.”

THE MAYOR denied his increased powers to review the capital’s planning applications will lead to unfair refusals.

To groans and shouts from the audience, he said: “The small applications that affect your local community will never come near me.”

He also claimed Bromley should build developments “to the borough’s full potential”, so that a shortage of homes can be avoided.

Mr Livingstone said: “Bromley is not an unsightly borough, but your sons and daughters require affordable housing and at the moment we are not building enough.”

Questioned over the need for such developments, he quipped: “It might be that there is something in the water in Bromley, because the rest of London is breeding like rabbits and we need more homes.”

WITH ENVIRONMENTAL awareness and conservation at the top of the social and political agendas, green-thinking ideas are usually welcomed with open arms.

But Bromley council says the Mayor of London is denying it the chance to improve the borough’s pollution levels by stopping them from controlling traffic lights.

It wants the green light to tailor the phasing system on the borough’s busiest roads to help improve traffic flow and reduce exhaust emissions.

Transport for London (TfL), headed by Ken Livingstone, has responsibility for all London’s red routes – including the timing of the traffic lights.

But leading Bromley councillors, including leader Stephen Carr, say they could boost the borough’s green credentials by fine-tuning the lights sequence to help reduce traffic gridlock.

Cabinet member for environment and leisure, Cllr Colin Smith, said: “I would argue that local knowledge would definitely help and allow us to knock off some of the rough edges.

“It is not a cure or the answer to every problem, but would give us a step in the right direction.

“We are doing a lot of things right with the environment but would like the ability to do more.

“We have our political differences with the Mayor of London but this is a serious environmental suggestion. This is about Bromley thinking outside the box.”

Cllr Smith highlights the junction of Croydon and Oakley Roads, at Keston Mark, as a traffic blackspot caused by its “bizarre” traffic light phasing.

He claims better timing at such junctions would improve fuel economy by reducing stop-start traffic and excessive braking and accelerating.

“In the age we live in, it is a noble thing to monitor air quality but it does the environment no good at all. We are not being given the tools to effectively manage pollution.

“It is all very well central and regional government giving us targets and quotas, but there is no joined-up thinking.

“If we had local control of the lights it would enable us to tailor local requirements more effectively.”

BROMLEY'S TAXPAYERS have been promised they won’t have to fork out any extra money to pick up the rocketing bill for the 2012 Olympics.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has vowed to fight the Government to ensure Londoners do not have to pay more than the agreed figure of 38p a week for up to 12 years.

Under pressure to justify his decision to use between £550 million and £625 million of council taxpayers’ money to stage the Games, he said he was determined to freeze the public burden.

Mr Livingstone said: “The truth is the contribution of the council tax – the 38p a week – is something I have no intention of increasing.”

Responding to why only Londoners are to contribute towards the cost, he said: “The whole country isn’t getting the transport improvements. Londoners are putting up a 10th of the cost and that is a pretty fair deal.”

“Bromley is in a very well-connected position. We want your train services upgraded to the service we expect on the underground.”