FUTURE OF TEDDINGTON POLICE STATION TO BE ANNOUNCED THIS SUMMER
The much-debated future of the former Teddington Police station site in Park Road should be decided this summer, Teddington Town has learned.
A short statement provided to Teddington Town by MOPAC said: “The future of Teddington Police Station is subject to the outcome of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Estates Strategy, which will be published towards the end of the summer.”
It added: “The Mayor’s record £1.16bn investment in the Met has saved vital neighbourhood police officer roles and ensures officers are visible in the capital’s high streets and work proactively with local communities to help build a safer London for everyone.”
Local community meetings in Teddington have seen retailers express increasing concern about burglaries, vandalism as well as shoplifting. A suspected shoplifter was apprehended by security trying to leave Marks & Spencer on Friday.
Local Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson has been an active campaigner in battling to clarify the future of the Police Station which has been empty since 2021 and has become an eyesore in the community.
Local residents want to see the police station ‘repurposed’ for community use including a GP surgery. The MP wrote to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley last October.
She wrote then: “As you are aware Teddington Police Station in my constituency was marked for closure in 2017 and first put up for sale in 2021.
“Residents are keen to know whether the site will be reopened as a police station or go back on the open market but we are still very much in the dark about its future.
“The last response I received from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime regarding a timeline of the review of MOPAC’s Estates Strategy – and specifically the future of Teddington Police Station – was in February 2024
“The reply from the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime on 23 February 2024 indicated that there was an ‘increased likelihood that MPS will need to retain more buildings than previously thought.”
“I realise that reviewing the Estates Strategy is a complex task . However, given the crucial importance of the Teddington Police Station site to our local community I am writing to ask for an update on the timeline of the review.
“On behalf of residents across Teddington, who are just as keen as I am to see the former police station either repurposed for community use (including as a much-needed new home for a local GP surgery) or reopened to help tackled crime in the area I very much look forward to receiving your reply.”
At one stage the upmarket estate agents Knight Frank advertised the police station freehold for sale as the site would provide first class residential development opportunities.
The details then said:
•Situated less than 200 metres west of Teddington Train Station, the property is in excellent proximity to local transport links.