Operational police stations
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.033366
I note you seek access to the following information:
Please can I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act on police station closures.
1. The number of police stations that were operational in each of the years a) 2015, b) 2016, c) 2017, d) 2018, e) 2019, f) 2020, g) 2021, h) 2022, i) 2023
2. Of the police stations that are no longer operational and that your force has closed down, why were they closed (eg. financial issues, no longer deemed necessary) for each of the years a) 2015, b) 2016, c) 2017, d) 2018, e) 2019, f) 2020, g) 2021, h) 2022, i) 2023
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Please see the below EXCEL spreadsheet which details the response regarding question.
Also see the attached spreadsheet for closures 2015 - 2023
Sites Closed:
2015
Streatham Police Station closed: The original site was deemed as no longer suitable to meet long term policing objectives. The acquisition of Streatham High Road provided an opportunity to close this site and open a replacement front counter in the new building
2016
Hammersmith PS closed for a long term refurbishment project, this subsequently reopened in 2020. During the closure the front counter at Shepherd’s Bush PS reopened.
Fulham Police Station closed, however replacement front counter facilities were subsequently provided at a location leased from the new owner of the original site.
2017 for full list of sites please see spreadsheet.
A net total of 36 Front Counters were closed in 2017 under the Mayor of London’s Public Access Strategy. Details of the proposed closures were published on the Mayor’s website: Public Access Strategy | London City Hall.
Of note: The replacement front counter in Fulham, which moved during the year was ultimately closed, as a front counter in Fulham was surplus to the requirements of the MPS under the Public Access Strategy. There are two recorded entries in 2017 due to the front counter location moving and subsequently closing within this year.
2018
Both sites closed in 2018 fell under the Public Access Strategy planned closures:
Paddington Green PS was proposed under the 2017 Public Access Strategy. Front Counter facilities at this site were replaced with those at Church Street, Westminster.
Marlowe House Daytime Front Counter: Consultation with the public under the Public Access Strategy resulted in Marlowe House front counter closing instead of the front counter at Bexleyheath PS.
2019
Notting Hill Police Station was originally planned to close under the Public Access strategy. Closure was postponed following the Grenfell Tower Fire in June 2017, referred to within the Public Access Strategy document on p33, until after alternative facilities were provided for the community at Royalty Studios.
2020
Shepherds Bush PS closed when Front counter facilities services moved back to Hammersmith PS following the reopening of this site after refurbishment.
Please see The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and Metropolitan Police Service Public Access Strategy already in the public domain which also explains the reasoning for the closure.
The above document can also be accessed via the link below: