Following the Mayor’s proposals to close police stations across London, and to open other police front counters to replace them, Simon Hughes MP and Southwark Liberal Democrats are asking for views from SE16 residents on where they would like most to see the new Rotherhithe front counter to open.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) has told the MP that Rotherhithe Police Station will not close without opening a suitable alternative that is able to serve both Bermondsey and Rotherhithe.
However, Southwark Council leader Peter John this week told council assembly that MOPAC and the Met has not been able to tell the local authority how much it is willing to spend on the new front counters and this is hampering council efforts to identify possible locations.
Simon Hughes MP the Southwark Liberal Democrats are asking for people to put in order of preference the following potential sites for a new SE16 police counter, and to make any other suggestions.
Sites suggested by Simon Hughes MP and Liberal Democrats in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are:
- Southwark Council’s new ‘My Southwark‘ shop in the square at the Blue
- A London Underground Station
- Surrey Quays Shopping Centre
- Lower Road shops [opposite Osprey Estate]
- Albion Street
- Jamaica Road
- Canada Water tube and bus station
- Bermondsey tube station
- Surrey Docks overground station
- Rotherhithe overground station
- Nearest available place to the Jamaica Road/Lower Road roundabout
Rank your five top suggestions here.
“Most people in our local communities do not want to see the closure of any existing police station. But if Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, decides that Rotherhithe will close on its present site, then the community needs to find the best possible alternative,” said Simon Hughes MP.
“I hope that with a large response from people who live in SE16, we can give a clear indication to the Mayor as to where we want the Rotherhithe to be based in the years ahead.
“I am clear that the police should be based where the public can easily find them, talk to them and report crime and other information. I shall do all I can to make sure that we end up with the best possible alternative police base as well as the maximum number of police and police community support officers on our streets and around SE16.”