Camden News - by PAUL KEILTHY Published: 17 July 2008
Hampstead police station
Plea for rethink over cop shops closures
THE full fury of Camden residents over plans to sell some of the borough’s police stations was revealed yesterday (Wednesday) with the publication of a consultation on the future of the Met Police’s estate. Hundreds of residents demanded that the Met scrap its proposals to “review” Hampstead and Kentish Town police stations and replace them with a single warehouse accommodate officers and cells.
Although the Met asked millions of Londoners their views on proposals to revamp their ageing network of stations, patrol bases and custody cells, more than half of the responses they received came from Camden alone.
Campaigner Ed Fordham said yesterday: “This was never about a knee-jerk reaction to the closure of one iconic building [Hampstead], but about the way policing is done in our communities.”
South End Green Association chairwoman Pam Gilby, who has campaigned against the Hampstead closure, added: “When the MPA gets a response on that sort of scale they should sit up, and wonder why people are saying this and what their concerns are. “People in this area feel very strongly indeed.”
Metropolitan Police Authority finance chief, Steve O’Connell said: “Nothing will be done in haste and no decisions have yet been taken.”