MP calls on people to save their police station if they want it (From Sutton Guardian)

MP Tom Brake urges people to save Wallington police station

2:10pm Thursday 10th January 2013 in News

An MP is calling on people to make sure they speak up if they want to save their police station.

Wallington police station will be closed to the public under proposals revealed yesterday. If the plans go ahead Sutton will be served by just two police stations open to the public - the one in the town centre and the police point in Worcester Park in the west of the borough.

Under the proposals the front counter will be shut down. The plan does not say whether the station will be retained for the use of staff and officers or sold.

Police say Wallington police station, in Crossfields House, Stafford Road, is not regularly used by the public but Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake says this could be misleading and wants people to take part in a consultation.

Mr Brake said: "A little while ago they closed the old police station in Stafford Road and moved it to Crossfields house because it was more suitable but it went from being on the main road to being tacked onto the side of an office building out of view.

"They are doing a consultation but it may not tell them that not many go there necessarily, it may tell them that not many people know it's there."

The plans, revealed by the Mayor's Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC) and the Metropolitan Police Service, include provision for police to hold regular meetings in public places in areas to make up for the loss of front counter services at stations.

Mr Brake added: "They talk about alternative contact points but they need to sort out what they are before they go ahead with any closures."

The plan is out for consultation. There will be a public meeting at the Secombe Theatre in Cheam Road on Tuesday, February 12, from 6pm to 7pm. To get involved in the consultation visit www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-and-crime/community-engagement.