Notting Hill police station sale on pause after residents’ fight

GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY: SALE WON’T GO AHEAD UNTIL NOVEMBER AT EARLIEST

THE sale of Notting Hill police station has been paused for at least three months as residents battle to stop it being turned into homes.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has halted the sale of the building.

Many locals want the transformation of the station to be stopped altogether.

The front counter of the station closed in 2017 and it then used as a drop-in base for officers.

Local residents and politicians were furious at the plan to sell the building, which MOPAC announced in July 2021.

Many groups, including the council, insisted a physical police presence should be kept in the area and the building should not be turned into posh private homes.

Around 2,500 locals have signed a petition to keep the building in the hands of the community and stop it being sold for luxury homes.

The Greater London Authority has confirmed it will not consider selling the station until November at the earliest, according to Kensington and Chelsea Council.

Any decision about the building’s future will come after the MOPAC has made and agreed on a wide strategy for their buildings across London.

Locals and councillors in Kensington and Chelsea want to save Notting Hill Police Station from being turned into luxury homes, claiming it should be kept for community use, like a GP surgery or facility for adults with learning difficulties.

Adults with learning disabilities who need specialist at-home care are often placed outside Kensington and Chelsea.

If the council buys the station, it could be used to care for 20 local people.

Shepherds Bush and six other stations in West London were earmarked for sale in 2012 by Boris Johnson while he was Mayor of London.

Since 2015, a further 36 Met Police stations have closed.

Meanwhile, plans to turn the City of London’s Snow Hill Police Station into a giant Premier Inn were given the green light in September 2021 and Wood Street Police Station could be turned into a luxury hotel and whisky bar. Hammersmith and Fulham Council will decide whether the plans get the green light in due course.

Kensington and Chelsea Council’s lead member for community safety, culture and leisure Emma Will said: “From the moment we were notified about the sale of Notting Hill police station, we have been serious about working with the community to protect the site.

“I’m hopeful that this latest delay means the Mayor’s Office is considering how the station could remain in community use rather than giving the building away to the highest bidder.

“We remain ready to make a fair offer for the building to provide much needed community space.”

The MOPAC was contacted for comment.

HANNAH NEARY Notting Hill Police Station closed its counter in 2017