Three car parks in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Abery Street, Charlton Village and Old Dover Road, are to be sold at auction on 11 December 2025 to generate essential revenue for the Council.
The decision to sell the three sites was made last year by Cabinet on 16 October 2024 and were part of a series of recommendations aimed at making the best use of the land and properties that the Council owns to unlock investment and growth across the borough as well as making savings and generating essential revenue.
Councillor Majid Rahman, Cabinet Member for Planning, Estate Renewal and Development, said:
“We are a well-managed council, but to remain financially stable, so we can continue to provide the services that residents deserve we must make the best use of the land and the properties that we own. We can see from the parking income data that these car parks are poorly used. Keeping poorly performing car parks for the sake of it isn’t something we can continue to justify as a Council when we need to make savings and increase revenue. We must make sure that council land and buildings works hard for taxpayers and these sites no longer did that as car parks however, we are optimistic that the borough’s underused car parks can generate much‑needed revenue to support key local services. At the same time, we believe this land could be better utilised by an investor who shares our vision of putting the community first. Going to auction is a transparent and competitive process, ensuring best value for the borough and if they don’t reach their reserve then we won’t sell.
"We recognise that our high streets are facing challenging times as shopping habits continue to evolve. That is why we have engaged with local businesses and will continue to do so - listening carefully to their concerns and working together to find the best ways to help our high streets thrive. Our goal is to ensure residents feel encouraged to shop locally, keeping our town centres vibrant and sustainable.
“Councils all over London are reckoning with reduced income and the rising costs and demand for adult and children’s social care, as well as temporary accommodation. We have had to make £43.4million million in savings to cover our shortfall and balance our budget for the current year. Next year we’re forecasting a budget gap of at least £45million.”
The car parks will remain open until any sale is agreed. Any future development on the sites would be subject to planning approvals and the Council’s and the Mayor of London’s affordable housing targets.
Residents can have their say on how the Council sets its Budget for next year by taking part in the Budget consultation until 22 December 2025.