New premises are to be found for the neighbourhood police teams serving the wards in and around High Barnet before the Metropolitan Police goes ahead with the sale of the police station in the High Street.

 

Sophie Linden, Deputy London Mayor for Policing, has given an assurance that the station will not be shut down and sold off until a new base has been found for the local ward officers.

The Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers, who feared that the neighbourhood teams would be moved to police headquarters at Colindale, has welcomed what she says is a partial reprieve.

“This is a partial victory because it acknowledges that a visible police presence in the Chipping Barnet constituency requires physical premises here for officers.”

A new base must now be found for the ward officers who serve the High Barnet, Underhill, Totteridge, and Oakleigh Park wards.

These new premises must be in a location that allows the officers to reach their ward areas within 20 minutes by either walking or cycling.

In a letter to Ms Villiers, Ms Linden said: “I can assure you that the disposal of Barnet police station will not be completed before an alternative location for the ward officers which meets the 20-minute-journey time criteria has been found and implemented.”

A small police office at 13 Cat Hill is to be retained for the ward officers for the East Barnet, Brunswick Park and Coppetts areas.

The High Barnet ward team – seen here in November 2021 – says it has been working hard to restore the pre-pandemic level of contact with residents across the High Barnet ward which includes the area to the north and east of Wood Street and Station Road, New Barnet. (left to right, PC Umar Fida, Sergeant Kevin Rudge, and PC Ben Knight).

A separate Underhill Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team is responsible for the area south of Wood Street, which includes Barnet Hospital and Barnet and Southgate College.

Barnet’s previous police station was demolished in the 1970s and the replacement building retained its prominent position in the High Street with extensive office space at the rear, over four stories, together with parking for police vehicles.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, announced the closure last summer after the counter service for the public was withdrawn and transferred to Colindale. Across London 37 stations lost their front desk services in 2017 and Barnet became one of the one of the surplus police stations earmarked for sale.

Plans to close the police stations at Barnet and Whetstone were first announced in 2013 when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London as part of measures to save the Metropolitan Police £500 million by 2015.

Ms Villiers said she remained strongly opposed to the closure of Barnet Police station and even the partial reprieve announced by the Deputy Mayor would not be an adequate replacement for the loss of the station and the earlier loss of a front desk service.

“News that police officers will stay on at the station until alternative accommodation is found for them in the neighbourhood gives us further time to make the case to save our local police station.

“So long as the building has not been sold to a developer, there is always a chance that we can still save it. My campaign on this will continue.”