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Mayor reviews planned police station closures
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent11.06.08
Mayor Boris Johnson is to review Scotland Yard's plans to close up to 60 London police stations, it can be revealed today.
His deputy in charge of policing, Kit Malthouse, said he would examine the proposals saying: "Nothing will be done in haste."
The move follows the Standard's revelations about the extent of the scheme to shut stations across London.
The Met wants to replace many of what it claims are old fashioned and difficult to maintain buildings with all-purpose patrol bases and front counters in High Street shops and offices. Many of the stations the force wants to shut are Victorian "blue lamp" buildings but others were built in the Sixties and Seventies.
Plans to modernise the Met's buildings were first announced four years ago but the details of which stations it wants to close have only recently emerged.
Campaigners claim there has been little consultation and the move will lead to people "disengaging" from the police. Officers are also against the plans to house police in patrol bases claiming it will lead to them losing touch with the public.
Today Mr Malthouse, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and a key figure on the Metropolitan Police Authority which oversees the Met, said: "I will be reviewing the plans for the Metropolitan Police's estate over the summer and nothing will be done in haste.
"We are keeping all options open and need to be convinced that policing in each area of London will really improve before we agree a single closure."
Campaigns have been launched to save some stations, such as Hampstead and Greenford.
Ed Fordham, a Liberal Democrat councillor campaigning to save Hampstead station, said: "I think that most people do not realise that these local stations are closing. The Standard is the first to make clear what is happening London-wide."
He said the Met had already been trying to find office space in Hampstead to re-house their officers while developers had been instructed to draw up possible future uses for the station.
He added: "The reason the station is in such a poor shape is that nothing has been spent on it for the past 45 years. I bet [Met commissioner] Ian Blair's office has been refurbished in the past 45 years."
Jason Stacey, the Tory leader of Ealing council, said it had made clear its opposition to the closure of Greenford station.
He said: "This is not about policing but is an attempt to free up old buildings for financial purposes. People want a local police station so that it is somewhere to go and they see it as an important source of reassurance.
"They claim they will replace it with a new base, but how do we have confidence that will take place. One day local people will walk past and realise their police station has gone."
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "No police stations with front counters are being closed without another front counter service replacing it.
"The fact is that many of our officers and staff continue to be working from unsuitable and inadequate buildings that simply do not meet the needs of policing in the 21st century."
Reader views (3)
Boris, keep our stations. Keep the stations and increase the 'police points/shelters whatever you want to call them as well. Just get more police on the street and give them the power of their authority.
- Kate , London
Police Stations are working buildings. Investment follows need.
The nature of policing has changed and existing buildings, where possible, should reflect all aspects of community safety through investment in buildings. Public Services should not be selling off assets to fund services. Local services should not continually be forced to pick up the tab for well meant but un-funded centralised initiatives.
This outrageously unfair use of local assets in matters of public accounting must be stomped on at once!
- Anibrown, London UK
The consultation was pretty poor, even distorted with duplicate phrases in every plan across London, so the news that the process is not going to be rushed is welcome. The community here in NW3 have put forward a series of alternatives but there is too little sign that the Metropolitan Police Service property team really understand how to build the partnerships needed.
For us locally it would make sense to have the Borough Police, the safer neighbourhood teams, Camden Council, Hampstead Heath constabulary, perhaps the local Royal Free Hospital security staff working from the same building. That would share costs, increase joint working and build community confidence...
No-one is defending the status quo but the MPA have failed to invest and have created this problem - they must listen and and act on what the community wants.
I should add I'm not a councillor but have led this campaign locally.
- Ed Fordham, Hampstead and Kilburn
