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Mark Heath |
It’s the end of an era – of police stations
‘We have moved on from concept of cop shops’
THE era of police stations is over, outraged residents were last night (Wednesday) told by the only Camden politician who votes on the fate of Hampstead Police Station.
Speaking at a fractious Town Hall meeting of police, residents and politicians – which repeatedly degenerated into angry heckling – Richard Sumray, the former Labour Camden councillor who represents Camden on the Metropolitan Police Authority, told campaigners fighting to save the Victorian Rosslyn Hill police station: “Police Stations are a concept we have moved on from.”
He added: “It’s up to us to deliver the right kind of properties for the police to do their job. The conditions some police work in are awful.”
Under secret plans submitted by borough commander Mark Heath to police property bosses last year, nearly all of Camden’s aging police stations could be sold and replaced by a series of small, cheap “shop front” bases and a massive single central Camden base.
Police chiefs insist selling the landmark Hampstead station and dozens of other historic buildings across London will release funds to fight crime more effectively.
But at last night’s (Wednesday) meeting it emerged that cash raised by the sale of Hampstead – worth tens of millions on the property market – would not be ring-fenced for improved police bases in Camden.
Metropolitan Police property director Alan Croney said: “The estates review is London-wide: no revenue from sales will be ring-fenced for individual boroughs.”
The meeting was disrupted when residents and councillors – already angry that the debate about Hampstead was relegated to the last 20 minutes of the two-and-a-half hour meeting – loudly objected to plans to eject a BBC documentary film crew from the meeting before Hampstead was discussed. Committee chair Janine Griffis eventually relented to a vote to let the crew stay.
Mr Croney, Mr Heath and Mr Sumray all responded to charges of secrecy by insisting that no concrete proposals had been put forward and that residents would be consulted when a plan was on the table.
But they all argued that Hampstead Police Station was untenable in its current form, with Mr Sumray and Mr Croney arguing strongly that its time had passed.
Tory Councillor Andrew Mennear and Ed Fordham, who will stand for the Liberal Democrats at May’s elections, both criticised police secrecy, while Hampstead police community consultative group chairman Nigel Steward unsuccessfully repeated his call for a full public meeting with Mr Croney.
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