Labour-run Greenwich Council has confirmed it is supporting the Mayor of London's planned closure of Coldharbour Police Base, which serves Mottingham, Coldharbour and New Eltham in the very south of the borough, claiming it will "make no difference at all" when pressed to change its position by Conservative councillors.
Councillors Matt Hartley and Roger Tester launched a petition against the closure earlier this year after it emerged the Mayor's Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC) intends to dispose of the lease of the William Barefoot Drive base, with officers instead to be concentrated at the new police base in Kidbrooke Village.
More than 1,500 residents have signed the petition against the closure, which Matt and Roger handed in at City Hall in November. Conservative Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley Thomas Turrell has raised the closure with Sadiq Khan and is campaigning with Conservative councillors for a solution that would see the Coldhabour base kept open and serving communities in Mottingham and Chislehurst wards on the Bromley side of the borough boundary.
Questioned by Conservative Opposition Leader Matt Hartley at the Town Hall, Labour Cabinet Member Jackie Smith claimed the closure will "make no difference at all" and claimed "it's not for us as a Council to influence other agencies on how they manage their budgets."
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Matt Hartley said: "The fact that Greenwich Labour are actively supporting the Mayor's closure of Coldharbour Police Base is astonishing - and represents an abject neglect and failure of communities in the very south of the borough. This is the second time that the Coldharbour Police Base has been placed under threat of closure by Sadiq Khan – and it’s no surprise that 1,500 residents have signed our petition against the plans. The police base on William Barefoot Drive is vital to ensuring effective neighbourhood policing in the south of the borough. We will continue to campaign against this closure and the move of our officers to Kidbrooke, which will leave Mottingham, Coldharbour and New Eltham less safe."
You can watch the full exchange at the Town Hall online here
