Home Care in Mottingham

Bromley or Greenwich: which council covers your street?

Mottingham straddles a borough boundary, and it decides who you ask for help. Most of it, including much of the 1930s estate, is in Bromley's Mottingham ward. The streets around Mottingham station, and the post-war Coldharbour estate to the east, are in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. A few streets on the western edge towards Grove Park run into Lewisham. SE9 on the envelope settles nothing; your council tax bill does.

• Bromley addresses: Bromley Adult Social Care, via the online adult social care form or the Civic Centre phone line. More on our Bromley home care page.
• Greenwich addresses: Royal Greenwich's adult social care line, 020 8921 2304, open Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4pm. See our Eltham and Greenwich pages.
• Lewisham addresses: the few streets on the Grove Park edge go to Lewisham Council; our Lewisham page has the route.

Whichever council it is, the process is similar: a needs assessment, then a financial assessment if the person is eligible. Equipment, carers' support and day services all follow the same line, so it is worth getting this right at the start.

The estate and its houses

Mottingham was a farming hamlet until the railway came in 1866. In the early 1930s the London County Council bought Court Farm and planned about 2,000 homes, with schools and shops; the first were finished in 1935. After the war, Woolwich Council built the Coldharbour estate on land east of Mottingham Road, largely for families bombed out in the Blitz.

The 2021 Census still shows that history. In Mottingham ward, two-thirds of homes are terraced or semi-detached houses, more than a quarter of households rent from a council or housing association, and almost three in ten have no car. These two-storey cottage-style houses suit home care well: the front door is at street level and there is usually room to work in the bathroom. The limits are a single bathroom upstairs and a narrow staircase. A carer can help with a strip wash downstairs on hard days, and the council covering the address can assess for a stairlift, rails or a level shower. In a rented home, adaptations need the landlord's agreement too.

Families who care a lot

Heavy caring is common here. In 2021, 2.7% of Mottingham ward's residents were giving at least 50 hours of unpaid care every week, compared with 2.1% for Bromley as a whole. It also had a higher share of people whose daily lives were limited a lot by disability. If you are one of those carers, ask your council for a carer's assessment. On the Bromley side, Bromley Well's carers service is on 0808 278 7898. Our respite care can be a regular sit while you go out.

Buses, the station and the hospitals

The 273 runs from Lewisham through Lee and Grove Park to Mottingham, and on through Chislehurst to St Mary Cray and Petts Wood. The 126 links Bromley, Grove Park, Mottingham station and Eltham. The 161 runs from Chislehurst through Mottingham and Eltham to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Woolwich. The 314 links Eltham, Coldharbour, Elmstead Woods, Bromley and Hayes. The station itself is in Greenwich, step-free on both sides, with Southeastern services into Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

Because Mottingham sits between several hospitals, a stay could be at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, or the Princess Royal University Hospital at Farnborough. Tell us which hospital and which council when you call about a discharge, and we will work with the ward's plan.

A walk and a book

Mottingham Library is at 31 Mottingham Road, on the Bromley side, and The Tarn, a small wooded park with a lake and bird sanctuary, is nearby. Both make good destinations for a companionship visit. Look out for the village sign, which shows a cricketer: W. G. Grace lived in Mottingham.

If a house has a spare bedroom, a carer can live in; see live-in care in Mottingham.

How far we travel to Mottingham

Visiting care is realistic in the north of Bromley and along the Orpington line, subject to carer availability. Biggin Hill and the rural south are mainly live-in care.

Everything our carers can help with →