2:40pm Thursday 7th August 2008
By Alex Hayes
MORE than 300 people voiced their opinions on plans to change the face of policing in Ealing.
Under-threat Greenford Police Station received the second highest amount of comments of any in the Met, during a three-month consultation on the future of police buildings in Ealing.
Other stations which people said they wanted to keep include Hanwell, Norwood Green and Ealing, all of which police claim are not fit for purpose.
Mike Roberts, who organised a demonstration against the closure of Greenford Police Station, said he did not feel the consultation was extensive enough.
Mr Roberts, who chairs the Greenford Neighbourhood Watch group, said: “There was no real consultation. They had one meeting on a night when there was a big Heathrow meeting in Greenford and an England football match on.
“Everyone who attended the meeting there objected to the closure of Greenford Police Station, and the others in the borough.
“No-one really seemed to know there was even a consultation going on, let alone what was being consulted over.
“I’m not very happy at all. They have made this decision behind closed doors. It’s a complete farce.”
Residents fear the loss of the three stations, currently used as Safer Neighbourhood Team bases, which was set out in the Asset Management Plan, could lead to there being less police in their parts of the borough.
Mr Roberts said: “We need a police station in Greenford more than ever now. There are a lot more people around the town than ever before.
“If they move the base to the Taylor Woodrow (Grand Union Village) site, like they are proposing, it’s miles from the town centre and they will not be able to patrol properly.”
Police argue the stations are all too cramped to house Safer Neighbourhood Teams, who patrol communities, and that communications equipment in the central Ealing base is not up to modern standards.
The plans all come from the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which controls all police buildings in London.
However, Councillor Jason Stacey, the council leader and representative for Greenford Green, vowed to fight any plans to close Greenford Police Station.
He said: “We are going to fight the MPA every step of the way, and we are not going to lose a police station which is much needed in Greenford.
“We have already proposed an option which is to move the licensing officers to our offices here in Ealing, which would free up much-needed space there.
“I don’t think they really publicised the consultation enough and calling it an Asset Management Plan meant a lot of people didn’t look at it twice, but there were some really important ideas in it.”
Superintendent Ian Jenkins, who is in charge of community policing in Ealing, said: “We welcome the feedback received in respect of the borough’s Asset Management Plan.
“The majority of respondents to the Asset Management Plan were supportive of the need to modernise the MPA estate.
“Unfortunately, some of our estate, which include Hanwell, Greenford, Norwood Green and Ealing police stations, do not fit the criteria for modern day policing, are run down and expensive to maintain.
“We need accessible, friendly police facilities in the right locations with improved working conditions to carry out our duties.”
He added that more consultation would be carried out on the stations that had received negative feedback from the public over the next few months.
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