Luxury flats coming on former Greenwich Police Station site

Plans are due to be submitted to build luxury flats on the site of Greenwich police station which was sold in 2015 during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor.

Developers plan 63 flats at the site. Two blocks will surround a courtyard. The site faces onto Royal Hill and Greenwich Town Hall and claims inspiration from the town hall. Hmmmmm. It seems to lack much of the style or grace of Greenwich Borough Council’s 1939 structure.

Raised brick planters are seen and an example of so-called “defensible space” on the street edge.

These often become filthy to the detriment of the building and wider street. There’s a good example on Plumstead High Street and another I passed earlier in east Greenwich:

Walls outside for “defensible space” become filthy

Two options are under consideration for brick colour after feedback from locals. Darker brick was the original choice:

Police station sell-offs

The police station finally closed in 2016 after approval  was given by Boris Johnson and his Deputy Mayor for Policing Stephen Greenhalgh.

Cuts to the police budget in London from the Home Office since 2010 – which fund around 80% of police budgets – has seen many police stations sold in an attempt to maintain officer numbers. Under Boris Johnson Woolwich police station was also closed as was Sidcup and Belvedere.

Greenwich police station now closed. Picture courtesy of Ken – Creative Commons – CC BY-NC 2.0

Sadiq Khan has continued the strategy of closures including the front counter at Eltham.

However selling off buildings and cutting counters could only last so long and so cuts to officer numbers then took hold in London.

Other UK forces saw officer cuts long before London as they lacked the office sites to sell off. Some – such as Norfolk – now have the lowest numbers since 1968.

Central Government have now announced more funding for police but place much of the burden onto local council taxpayers instead of central government funds. Council tax is one of the most regressive forms of taxation in the UK with a disproportionate burden on low and mid-income households.

 

 

 

 

 

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I've lived in south east London most of my life growing up in Greenwich borough and working in the area for many years. The site has contributors on occasion and we cover many different topics. Living and working in the area offers an insight into what is happening locally.

11 thoughts on “Luxury flats coming on former Greenwich Police Station site

  • God, you’ve gone off on a lefty rant that has very little to developing the site, Norfolk!!

    Reply
    • You read the article and the only thing that you took away is a passing comment about Norfolk?

      Reply
  • What’s ‘lefty’ about noting the fact that police budgets have been cut and these flats are one of the results of that?

    Reply
  • Well I’m on the right and there’s nothing lefty about highlighting the Tories failures with policing and flogging off stations. Tories WERE the party of law and order and many on the right are NOT happy with how things have been going.

    Highlighting why these stations are becoming housing is in context with the article. Woolwich is also becoming housing – and that certainly needs a station! Ever more homes and ever less cop shops. That’s going well.

    You can see it much closer to home than Norfolk. Kent has lost a couple of thousands, Sussex the same and it is the same story all over.

    Reply
  • It’s also built on the line of the Greenwich park railway. Now ….

    Reply
    • Yes, a viaduct runs under it and through the community garden, adjacent.

      Reply
    • can ‘luxury’ not also be thoughtfully designed,and appropriate and sympathetic to the surrounding area ?

      Reply
  • I have to agree with Chris and Steve nothing wrong with stating the facts on how the properties have become available on the market for redevelopment,

    Reply
  • It’s over developed and its stretching the word ‘Luxury’ into the realms of fake estate agents/builders gibberish

    Reply
  • Yeah luxury these days means low quality built in appliances and a bit of fancy tiling in the windowless shower room.

    Reply
  • Pingback: What became of London's recently closed police stations? | Murky Depths

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