‘We want to save our police station’
COUNCIL MAKES £4.5M BID TO BUY BUILDING AND SAVE UXBRIDGE POLICE STATION FROM THE CHOP
UXBRIDGE Police Station could be saved after a lastminute bid from Hillingdon Council to buy the building and pay half the running costs.
The station was earmarked for closure by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in a bid to reduce the size of Metropolitan Police’s estate, making savings on running costs and generating revenue from sales.
The station’s front counter, along with others across London, closed to the public on Thursday December 14.
Later that same day, in a council meeting at the Civic Centre, council Leader Ray Puddifoot offered to purchase the building for £4.5 million in order to keep it open.
He also pledged a grant of £250,000 a year to cover half of the running costs of the Warwick Place station.
“We were informed that the building had an estimated value of £4.5 million and that running costs were £460,000 per year,” he said after the meeting.
“Our offer is to purchase the police station for £4.5 million, or the professional market valuation, and lease it to the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) for five years at a rent of £45,000 or one per cent of the purchase price.
“We will also provide a grant of £250,000 a year for five years to cover approximately 50% of the running costs.
“Given that MOPAC’s current plan takes until 2020 to vacate Uxbridge Police Station, the grant of £250,000 a year, commencing in April 2018, will cover nearly 75% of the proposed saving on running costs in the next five years.
“This is a genuine offer to protect and enhance the good working relationship that we have with our police colleagues and ensure that they have adequate, practical and affordable facilities from which to operate.”
As of Thursday, the only police station front counter in Hillingdon is in Hayes.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “We are aware and in discussion with Hillingdon Council about their proposal to buy Uxbridge police station.”
Our offer is to purchase the police station for £4.5 million Council leader Ray Puddifoot