Wimbledon police station - stop the front counter closures

Merton Lib Dems and Paul Kohler MP have expressed deep concern at the decision to close both Wimbledon and Mitcham police front counters, leaving Merton borough with no public-facing police station for the first time in living memory.

Residents across Merton are set to lose public access to both of their police stations, under plans signed off by Sadiq Khan. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that front counters at Wimbledon and Mitcham police stations will close on Saturday 28^th February.

In a letter published on 30^th January, the Met confirmed that neither station will retain a public-facing front counter. This directly contradicts the Labour Mayor’s explicit promise that every London borough would retain at least one 24-hour police counter.

As a result, Merton residents needing face-to-face access to the police will now be forced to travel outside the borough, with the nearest 24/7 police counters in Charing Cross and Lewisham.

Local residents have already made their opposition clear. Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler and Merton Liberal Democrats are campaigning to keep our police stations fully open, launching a petition that has already attracted thousands of local signatures.

Despite this strength of local feeling, Merton’s Labour Council has failed to meaningfully challenge the closures, unlike neighbouring Richmond, where Liberal Democrat councillors are actively fighting to protect their last public-facing police station.

Residents have been confused by Merton Labour's recent claims that Mitcham and Wimbledon police stations had been ‘saved’, seemingly trying to spin the lack of immediate plans to sell the buildings as a success.

Stop the closure of Wimbledon and Mitcham police station front counters

The Met Police has announced that Wimbledon and Mitcham police station front counters will be entirely closed. This means residents will lose the ability to report crimes face-to-face or seek help at their local police stations. Instead, those needing police assistance in person will have to travel to Sutton, Kingston, or Lavender Hill (Clapham Junction), stations which themselves operate on restricted hours. The nearest 24/7 access points for affected residents will now be Charing Cross and Lewisham.

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