Daniel Zeichner, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, Cllr Lewis Herbert, Leader of the Cambridge City Council, and Cllr Anna Smith, Executive Cllr for Communities and Policing, have raised  serious concerns about the announcement that plans are proceeding to close Parkside Police Station and that a new site for a county station is being reviewed on the outskirts of the city.

Mr Zeichner MP said: “As the MP for Cambridge my priority is ensuring that residents have the police support and protection that they need. I know from communications I receive from constituents that police presence is a real concern in the city, so I am going to need assurances that this will not result in a further decline of visible policing in Cambridge.”

It is vital that there is a continued police presence in the city centre to ensure that the public have access to the police and that there is no impact on response times to crime reported in the city. City residents are become increasingly concerned about security in the city centre – any changes must not do anything to add to these insecurities.”

Lewis Herbert, Leader of the Cambridge City Council, said: “Given its challenges, Cambridge needs 24 hour policing, and an end to year after year cuts to neighbourhood policing, which means that a publicly accessible ‘police station’ must continue in the centre at least 16 hours a day to ensure continuous city officer presence.”

Councillor Anna Smith, Executive Cllr for Communities and Policing added: “The people of Cambridge will understandably be very concerned by this news, and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s vague comments about a ‘public contact point’ are hardly reassuring. Cambridge needs clear guarantees that we will keep a strong police presence in a dedicated and publicly-accessible city centre station, which is able to respond at least 16 hours a day. We also need to know that there will be a city-based vehicle hub so that the police can respond as quickly as possible to serious incidents in the city.”

Last year the Police and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite, stated that the Parkside Police Station had a value of £35 million and annual running cost of £4 million. The Police and Crime Commissioner has been working with t team over the last year to explore possible sites that would replace Parkside Police Station.  It has been reported that a new station will be located in the outskirts of the city.

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