MP Theresa Villiers has received an assurance from the Met Commissioner that the force is looking again on whether to keep Barnet Police Station in police hands.
Theresa met with Sir Mark Rowley last week at New Scotland Yard to discuss policing in the capital, along with fellow Conservative MPs.
The MP and many of her constituents have long campaigned for the police station to continue as an operational base for officers, after the Mayor of London decided he would close the front desk and sell off the building for development.
Sir Mark confirmed he had ordered a review to “carefully consider” how well the list of properties earmarked to be sold aligns with his strategy and priorities for the Met. The review will report back at the end of the summer.
“When I asked the Commissioner to save Barnet police station, he acknowledged the importance of the police being based near the communities they serve and told me about the review,” said Theresa.
“I feel this latest development means further progress is being made in the campaign to change minds and keep the station as a place to locate officers in Barnet.
“Some months ago, the Deputy Mayor accepted that if the police station was sold off, some alternative local premises would be provided for officers. The question must be: why close Barnet police station in the first place?
“The station is needed and wanted by residents, preferably with a front counter open to the public. The latest on this gives us a glimmer of hope this review may come to the conclusion Barnet Police Station should be saved.”
During the meeting, Theresa brought up neighbourhood ward police teams and the Commissioner confirmed they would be enlarged, following the increase in the number of officers in London resulting from the Government's delivery of 20,000 extra officers nationally. She also told him that constituents feel that the police are not effective enough on car crime and Sir Mark acknowledged that this needed to improve.
Theresa has also recently met the acting Borough Police Commander for Barnet, Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, who confirmed that the plan to sell the police station was under review.
