The station counter will now be open between 10am and 10pm Monday to Friday and 9am until 7pm at weekends

A grey-white building with s circular front containing multiple windows — Colindale Police Station

The counter at Colindale Police Station will be open for a reduced number of hours as a result of revised proposals for police station cuts announced by the Metropolitan Police yesterday.

While the original plans announced in August had included Colindale of one of the 20 stations that would remain open to the public 24-hours-a-day, following an angry response to the potential loss of other front desks, the Met is now putting forward a new approach which would see seven more stations remaining open but a reduction in opening hours at all but two.

Under the latest proposals, the front counter at the Colindale site in Grahame Park Way will be open for the public to report crimes between 10am and 10pm Monday to Friday and between 9am and 7pm at weekends.

Explaining the change of plans, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “The Met is having to shrink to live within its means and as the public would expect, we are targeting our resources on a narrower set of their priorities to make London safer.

“Londoners tell us they want more visible and responsive policing on the capital’s streets and that is exactly what we are going to deliver.

“But we have also listened to their views during an extensive engagement process and, while our funding gap means we must reduce provision, we will keep more front counters open across London.”

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, had faced significant criticism when the original plans were announced, with opponents claiming he had broken a manifesto commitment to maintain a police front counter in all 32 London boroughs.

Reacting to the new proposals, the mayor said: “The news that more police front counters will remain open – with extended opening hours – for members of the public is welcome.

“Whilst this is an operational policing decision, this action would not have been possible without record-breaking funding from City Hall. We will continue to support the Met to deliver what Londoners want – boosting visible neighbourhood policing on our streets and making local officers more accessible in our communities.

“We want to do more to build on the record reductions in violence and homicides achieved in the capital, and I will continue to support the police and make the case to government for the funding the Met needs – to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.”

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