Eltham police station site could see Padel Club open

It could be paddles replacing truncheons at the former site of Eltham police station with new plans in.

An application has been uploaded to Greenwich Council’s planning portal this morning for a Padel Club opening on site for five years.

Four courts are planned on site with no housing looking likely to be built anytime soon.

This application follows a Padel Club application in Blackheath submitted last month.

Eltham police station closed in 2022 and followed a large number of similar closures across south east London over the past ten or so years. Those included Sidcup as well as Woolwich, Greenwich, Westcombe Park, Belvedere and Thamesmead.

Over 15 years the capital’s police stations fell from 160 police stations to 36. Many were closed on the hopes of using savings to maintain officer numbers.

Despite those cuts the Met could now be forced to find further savings with potential reductions in police officers and staff totalling 1,700.

Cuts includes a reduction in forensics, mounted police, police dogs as well as the dedicated Royal Parks police including those at Greenwich Park.