Plans to close Coldharbour Police Base on William Barefoot Drive will now NOT go ahead, following a campaign led by local Conservative councillors and backed by more than 1,600 residents.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's plan to close the Police Base and relocate the police team based there, which services Mottingham, Coldhabour and New Eltham ward, to the new base in Kidbrooke Village emerged last year, prompting Conservative councillors Matt Hartley and Roger Tester to launch a petition against the closure.
The petition, signed by 1,600 people and backed by 11 community groups and Neighbourhood Watches, was submitted to City Hall on the local team's behalf last November by Bromley's Conservative Assembly Member Thomas Turrell, who has raised this issue repeatedly with the Mayor of London.
In January, Councillors Matt Hartley and Roger Tester joined Thomas Turrell in a private meeting with the Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to directly make the case for the William Barefoot Drive Police Base to remain in operation - particularly after it emerged nearby police teams on the Bromley side of the borough boundary were actively looking for a Base to use.
Meanwhile Labour-run Greenwich Council has come under criticism for actively supporting the Mayor's plan to close Coldharbour Police Base, despite being repeatedly urged by Conservative councillors at the Town Hall to back their campaign to save it. Eltham and Chislehurst's Labour MP Clive Efford has remained silent, something local Conservatives have called "simply not good enough".
It has today (Wednesday 2 July 2025) been confirmed by the Metropolitan Police that the William Barefoot Drive base will remain in operation, with the Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham Safer Neighbourhood Team continuing to be based there "with no change" - and longer term plans to base other police teams covering areas on the Bromley side of the boundary from there as well, as Conservatives have argued for.
Councillor Matt Hartley said: "This is a brilliant result for our community. Sadiq Khan's plans to close Coldharbour Police Base would have left the Coldhabour Estate, Mottingham and New Eltham less safe, which was why it was so important to campaign to stop this plan. I remain appalled that Labour-run Greenwich Council supported this closure, and refused to back our campaign. Fortunately, Roger and I were able to make a strong case to keep the Base in operation directly to MOPAC, with the unstinting support of Thomas Turrell AM at City Hall - and backed by the incredible support from 1,600 petitioners and community groups across the area."
Councillor Roger Tester said: "It was ridiculous to expect our police officers to travel in from Kidbrooke Village - crossing the South Circular and the A20 - to police our ward, and I am very relieved that this closure will not go ahead. This is the second time in a decade that Sadiq Khan has tried to close our Police Base and the second time we have fought this off as a community. Matt and I will always be vigilant in protecting our community facilities, and we are grateful to residents and community groups for all your support."
London Assembly Member for Bexley & Bromley, Thomas Turrell AM who presented the petition to the Mayor added:
"Well done to Matt, Roger and the local community for all their incredible work to save this important police base - which has saved the base for the second time from Sadiq Khan's axe.
"It is important that the use of this base is extended to cover both neighbourhood teams in the south of Greenwich and also Mottingham and Chislehurst in Bromley to enhance to police presence in these communities as well. We need more community police bases and Sadiq Khan needs to stop dragging his feet to deliver them".
Areas like Chislehurst and the Bromley side of Mottingham badly need a base - an issue that former Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Charlie Davis made a central part of his General Election campaign last year.
Charlie Davis, former Parliamentary Candidate for Eltham and Chislehurst, said: "This news will be warmly welcomed by local residents, and I’m particularly delighted by the longer-term plan to base Bromley teams out of the William Barefoot Drive Police Base in the future, following my campaigning for a police base on the Chislehurst and Mottingham border and Thomas Turrell's work on this as the Assembly Member. This will cut travel time for local police teams and mean they can spend more time on their beats and protecting communities in Chislehurst and Mottingham"
