Station ‘a win for the north’
STATE MP Michael Crandon says he lobbied former Police Commissioner Ian Stewart “for years” for a police station to be built in the city’s fastgrowing north.
Yesterday, he praised Mr Stewart’s successor for delivering a “major” policing hub just weeks after taking the top job.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll yesterday announced a station would be open in Pimpama by 2022 to help curb the growing population and crime.
“Clearly the new Police Commissioner has put her stamp on this,” said Mr Crandon, the Member for Coomera. “She has immediately seen the value when the proposal was put to her.
“It’s certainly a sweet day from the perspective that we’ve had a win for the people of the northern Gold Coast, that we’ve been trying to get sorted for the last two years.”
However, he has vowed to lobby for the station to be fasttracked.
The station will be built on the corner of Cox and Yawalpah roads, next to the $3 million Queensland Fire and Emergency Services facility, which will open in 2021.
Mr Crandon said the station was not in the State Government’s Budget papers tabled in parliament in June.
“There was nothing on their radar at Budget time and here she is, she came into the role three weeks after that and six weeks into the job she’s given the tick to something that’s been taken up the line by the Assistant Commissioner Brian Wilkins.”
Commissioner Carroll said from the site yesterday: “It is a massive growth area that needs to be appropriately staffed and have appropriate infrastructure. It will very much be a central focus for the community.”
She also announced 44 new officers would be stationed on the Coast, 20 of which will be in the northern corridor.
Asst Comm Wilkins said he was still considering resourcing
IT’S CERTAINLY A SWEET DAY ... WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET (THIS) SORTED FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. MP MICHAEL CRANDON
for the new station, but said it would be a multipurpose facility with general duties police, plain clothes officers from the CIB and CPIU as well as small taskforces based at the new centre.
“As far as resourcing this area, we have a new police facility which is due to open at the end of this year at Arundel which is only 20 minutes down the M1,” he said.
“We have the dog squad and our road policing command working out of Coomera. They will be joining our RAP teams at Arundel in that new police facility.
“Numbers at the moment I’m still considering, but those 20 that have been (announced) will be allocated to the northern corridor. Prior to this establishment being built, they will be allocated between Coomera and Nerang, which is a significant and good thing for us.”