Lordship Lane Police Station

[db1066]

Does anyone out there know what is the latest development with the Lordship Lane police station? Is it still be used as temporary accommodation for the Community Wardens?

[TopTree]

Sell it off for private housing and bring spenders to East Dulwich.

[rch]

Will write an update when I can, but some of you might be interested to know that the new Borough Commander is appearing at the Herne Hill Forum meeting tonight at 7pm at the Herne Hill Baptist Church on Half Moon Lane.

[lameduck]

is this not a plod shop anymore

last time i went there it was manned by a policewoman and an alsation?

[LondonMix]

Does anyone have an actual update on what's happening with the site? Has it been sold off and if so to who and with permission to do what?

[KidKruger]

It's going to be a nightclub/bar complex, called The Nick.

Complete with stay-over accomodation in cute little rooms with iron doors and a slot through which breakfast in an aluminium tray is served.

There are stables out back for those that ride into town and parking for customers (who know the PIN for the entry gate). Round the back of the big filing cabinets will be small leftover amounts of amphetamines, weed and partially destroyed evidence from various cases when it was once a police station.

[????]

+ the management will taken no responsibility for any customers who 'fall down the stairs'

[KidKruger]

..just like the previous business model then.

you could also add balshy service, heavy-handed doormen, no weapons allowed in premises and anti-drug policy (except for staff).

[James Barber]

Boris has decided to close East Dulwich Police station. As part of his changes we'll see far fewer officers in our local Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Those few officers remaining will be based in Camberwell Police station and will spend a high proportion of their time traveling to and from East Dulwich. But this will allow Boris ot pretend Police numbers are high - if spending much of their day unproductively.

So the senior Southwark officers saay they have no need for an operational police base on Lordship Lane.

Local officers are desperate to keep a local base so they can maximise the time they spend policing.

[Otta]

Agree a local base would be good, but don't think it needs to be that dirty big police station.

Although I have fond memories of walking in to see the horses in the stables when I was a kid.

[mynamehere]

There is a local alternative which is being actively developed at the East Dulwich Hospital Site in the Guard house. Could you brief us on that James?

[DulwichFox]

May I make a Suggestion..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Derbyshire_Police_Box_at_Crich.jpg

Much Much Bigger inside than it looks.

Dulwich Fox

[linzbee]

oh please! they are 1 mile away. its 10 minutes on the bus.

Its like me complaining if they moved the police station to Sainsburys.

THAT's 1600 metres further away from me than they currently are! the sky is falling the sky is falling!

James Barber Wrote:

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> Boris has decided to close East Dulwich Police

> station. As part of his changes we'll see far

> fewer officers in our local Safer Neighbourhood

> Teams. Those few officers remaining will be based

> in Camberwell Police station and will spend a high

> proportion of their time traveling to and from

> East Dulwich. But this will allow Boris ot pretend

> Police numbers are high - if spending much of

> their day unproductively.

> So the senior Southwark officers saay they have no

> need for an operational police base on Lordship

> Lane.

>

> Local officers are desperate to keep a local base

> so they can maximise the time they spend policing.

[bonaome]

linzbee Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> oh please! they are 1 mile away. its 10 minutes on

> the bus.

> Its like me complaining if they moved the police

> station to Sainsburys.

> THAT's 1600 metres further away from me than they

> currently are! the sky is falling the sky is

> falling!

LOVING your work!

[Pugwash]

has anyone tried catching a bus from Camberwell to ED after 3.30 pm during the week - it's standing room only from the Green to ED. If I leave work at Camberwell anytime between 5. - 6.30 weekday, it takes me nearly an hour sometimes to get to Dulwich Library. On a good evening being able to get the first bus 30 mins. Last Friday I had to go on a training course at London Bridge. Left home at 8.15 am caught 40 bus straight away, ended up going by train from ED as it was 8.45 by the time I reached the station so knew I would not make the course at 9.30 am

[csaddleton]

Or you could "walk", how often do you need to go to the police station that it is cause for concern?

[rch]

I live within sight of the current police station on Lordship Lane... it takes me about 20 minutes to half an hour by bus (depending on when the bus actually shows up), walking to and from the bus stops, to reach the station in Camberwell.

The problem isn't just about public access to a front counter to report crime - this can be done with increasing efficiency by calling 101 - what it directly affects is the police presence on our streets. The Village Safer Neighbourhood Panel has calculated that up to 25% of police time will be spent commuting back and forth from the Camberwell base, assuming that they don't get abstracted completely out of the ward into other parts of the 'cluster' as they do now. In other words, when one reads claims that the police are closing stations in order to save money to retain officers on the streets, one has to wonder what benefit this is going to be to the Dulwich area if our beat officers have to endure a half hour trek each way several times a day...

Because of the Dulwich wards' geographic size and logistical complexities, we have even had problems with Response Police in emergency cars responding quickly and being able to find locations when they actually do get down here.

I recently had someone witnessing a knife incident in a local park call me on a Sunday afternoon in distress because he had heard the sirens around the perimeter of the park but they hadn't actually attended. What's worrying is I'm getting calls like this more frequently and I'm not trained to deal with emergency incidents.

DulwichFox, don't laugh, but the Police Box was introduced 90 years ago in April 1923 precisely to deal with the logistical problem of police being diverted from their beats to report to inaccessible police stations, so the Camberwell commute is actually a return to the pre-Edwardian policing mindset. Here's a bit of history for you:-

http://www.policeboxes.com/pboxhist.htm

'Chief Constable Frederick James Crawley of Newcastle-upon-Tyne introduced police boxes in Sunderland, starting in April 1923, to increase the efficiency of constables on the beat. He had realised that much of a constable's time was wasted travelling to and from his police station - for example, a half-hour refreshment break called for a visit to the police station (or any other suitable place), and then a return to beat duty. This meant that up to a quarter of a constable's beat time could be wasted.'

[rch]

There is sufficient concern that the knock-on effect of the actual, or perceived, lack of police presence will increase crime in the Dulwich Community Council area.

To address this issue, ward councillors, MPs, and Assembly Members have all united in a cross-party attempt to convince the Met to reconsider the decision not to provide an alternative contact point and local patrol base when the ED Police Station closes immanently (rumour has it that the process will begin in April).

To this end, we have identified a viable solution at the Gatehouse at the front gate of the Dulwich Hospital on East Dulwich Grove and negotiated an excellent and affordable deal with the NHS for the Met to occupy the building for between 5-10 years, depending on the Met's requirements, which will in turn allow us the breathing space to develop a more permanent base either as part of the redevelopment of the current police station site or as part of the redevelopment of the hospital site.

Even better, the Cabinet member for Community Safety has identified council funding for this base, so it won't cost the Met much at all to integrate this location into their operational set-up. Village ward councillors have met on site at the Gatehouse with the Deputy Mayor's policing advisor, who agrees that this is a perfectly viable and cost-effective solution. But for some reason the Met are continuing to resist.

As the Met has agreed to keep the SNT base on Seeley Drive in College ward operational, we are still fighting to convince them to let us provide the Gatehouse as a stepping stone from Seeley Drive to Camberwell to plug up the 'black hole' of reduced police presence in Dulwich.

Not only does the Gatehouse have the space to serve as an SNT patrol base, but it also has the facility to provide a front counter service and a private interview room for face to face police meetings for intel updates and victim support. Furthermore, it is conveniently placed along the more inaccessible east-west axis for local police to quickly reach hotspots in both Village and East Dulwich wards.

For the moment, all that is tentatively agreed is for a front counter to be provided for a minimum of three hours per week at the Dulwich Library, but there isn't enough room there for a patrol base. Plus, there is the inevitable problem that some residents might be discouraged from attending an openly public location.

We haven't given up yet, as there is complete agreement between all parties concerned - all we need to do is to convince the Met that this is a viable solution. In the end, it will be interesting to see if the Mayor's office will prevail over the Met's resistance in order to address the concerns of the representatives of over 50,000 rate-paying residents.

[katgod]

Those sound very sensible options - I am glad that some positive steps are being taken to address this issue. Thank you for a very informative post Councillor.

[UncleBen]

Its a shame local councillors didn't put as much effort into maintaining Dulwich hospital for medical use rather than their own machinations for schools, cop shops & art galleries. Anyway, back on topic - why not use the original ED police stn site cornor crystal palace/northX?

[Callie]

UncleBen Wrote:

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> Its a shame local councillors didn't put as much

> effort into maintaining Dulwich hospital for

> medical use rather than their own machinations for

> schools, cop shops & art galleries. Anyway, back

> on topic - why not use the original ED police stn

> site cornor crystal palace/northX?

I wasn't aware that was the original station. It's been borded up some time now. I think that would be a great place for the station, if possible.

[LondonMix]

Hasn't that been sold?

[Callie]

LondonMix Wrote:

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> Hasn't that been sold?

have no idea, do tell us more

[LondonMix]

It was on with Foxtons in the summer and at one point went under offer I think (I could be confusing it with the other boarded up house on Crystal Palace Road). Not sure if the transaction has completed.

[Callie]

No, actually the building I am thinking of is the office building on the corner of Crystal Palace Rd & Upland Rd (not North Cross Rd)opposite The Actress, that had the one way shiny mirror windows. Not sure if that is the one UncleBen means?