The Metropolitan Police has unveiled a 10-year estate strategy designed to bring neighbourhood officers closer to the communities they serve, with a pledge to base most teams within a

20-minute walk of their local wards.

Central to the plan is a call for support from local partners—including London borough councils and the Greater London Authority—to deliver 40 new neighbourhood policing hubs in the next three years. These dedicated workspaces, the Met says, will not replace traditional police stations but instead provide visible, community-focused bases for Safer Neighbourhood Teams in town centres.

The strategy, published jointly by the Met and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), underpins the force’s wider mission of delivering “More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards”. Existing hubs in Greenwich, Redbridge and Westminster have already helped improve police presence and reduce offences such as shoplifting, theft and anti-social behaviour.

Enhancing frontline policing and training

Over the next three years, the Met intends to:

- Relocate 40 neighbourhood teams closer to the areas they police, strengthening community ties.

- Modernise forensic services, upgrading both physical and digital capabilities for evidence management.

- Maintain a safe, legally compliant estate across London.

- Improve training facilities for firearms officers, part of wider efforts to raise standards and embed an inclusive culture early in officers’ careers.

- Begin fleet electrification, installing charging infrastructure and transitioning vehicles to support a greener police footprint.

Tough estate decisions ahead

The Met estate currently comprises more than 200 buildings across London. The force acknowledges that years of underfunding mean difficult decisions will be needed to prioritise investment, focusing on projects that put officers directly into communities. This could include creative partnerships to deliver mobile stations or community-led hubs.

If further investment becomes available, the Met says it will expand training facilities for all officers, redesign spaces to better support victims reporting crimes, and open a new emergency response base in south-west London within the next decade to improve 999 response times.

Backed by record investment

The strategy builds on the Mayor’s wider policing overhaul, including the New Met for London 2 plan, aimed at strengthening neighbourhood policing and improving standards. It is supported by a record £1.16bn funding package for the Met announced earlier this year.

As part of the strategy, the force will continue disposing of disused former police stations to reinvest funds into the modernisation of its active estate.

Overall, the Met says the plan marks a long-term commitment to rebuilding public confidence, cutting crime and making officers more visible and accessible in London’s communities.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Met needs an estate that is fit for the 21st century and serves the needs of hardworking officers, staff and all Londoners. Today’s new Estate Strategy prioritises neighbourhood policing, putting officers at the heart of the communities they serve, keeping our streets safe.

“Our investment will create 40 neighbourhood policing hubs across the capital, help to modernise the Met’s physical and digital forensics services, provide better training facilities for firearms officers and begin the process of replacing the Met’s fleet with electric vehicles.

“Despite my £1.16 billion record funding it is clear that the Met is facing some tough choices following 14 years of underfunding form the previous Government. Half of the buildings across the Met fall below acceptable standards and need to evolve to meet the demands of modern policing.  I will continue to work with the Commissioner and make the case to the new Government for the funding the Met needs - to ensure we can continue delivering a safer London for everyone and build on the significant reductions in crime and violence we have achieved.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “Given the well-established financial pressures we face, this new strategy sets out a realistic, achievable plan to get our buildings to an acceptable level and ensure that we are able to meet our legal requirements while still delivering on the things that matter to Londoners. 

“Our financial challenges have massive implications for the speed with which we can improve conditions for our officers and staff, as well as the facilities and service we provide to victims of crime. It can’t be right that the government spends nearly double the amount per square metre on offices for Civil Servants, despite the Met operating a much more diverse and specialist estate in a high-cost London environment. 

“These challenges have required us to pursue innovative solutions to deliver on the promises we have made to Londoners, including through working closely with partners across London to keep officers within a 20-minute walk of the communities they serve. Collaboration with partners on co-location is a massive opportunity for us to deliver for Londoners together and we are hoping to deliver 40 of these neighbourhood hubs over the next three years.  

“However, if we were able to secure more funding, this strategy sets out an ambitious vision which would see us build new training facilities for our officers to help deliver on our mission of high standards, improve the spaces available to victims of crime to make sure they get the service they deserve and create a new Emergency Response base in South West London to speed up emergency response times when Londoners need our help.” Photo by Cnyborg, Wikimedia commons.