ROLAND Duchatelet says Charlton have no intention of moving away from The Valley in the near future.

The Addicks have been linked with a move to Greenwich Peninsula for a number of years, a rumour which was rekindled a few months ago before the Belgian took control in SE7.

But the new owner stated at his first Charlton press conference The Valley is likely to be the club’s home for the foreseeable future.

“There is no plan to move the club anywhere else,” said Duchatelet.

"It is a good stadium with around a 30,000 capacity which fits well, so there is no real concern about the future of The Valley.

“Of course you always have to keep your options open, so if someone comes to us with a fantastic opportunity then we will look at it.

“There is no need to change at the moment.”

This season home attendances have averaged 16,636 and non-executive chairman Richard Murray admitted the club are looking to increase the fan-base.

He said: “We are in a fabulous position at Charlton, as to where we are in a geographical sense.

“Not only have we got a huge catchment area being part of London and Kent, but more importantly in the Thames Gateway there are something like 200,000 new homes being built.

“That means new families moving to this area.

“There are some one-city, and one-town clubs who would give anything to have that potential support.

“If we can play attractive football and have reasonable success, then we have got a great chance of attracting those families to The Valley.”

Owner Duchatlet also revealed plans are already in place to upgrade The Valley pitch as soon as possible.

He said: “That will probably be at the end of the season.

“We will re-do the pitch completely so that we have a decent surface which can absorb a lot of water.

“In London your pitch should be able to do that.

“It is not a big job or investment, but it needs to be done.”

Follow us on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt