Thanks to all the residents who won this campaign

The news is out that Hampstead police Station is to stay open for now - the recession as well as the political and residential pressure finally won the day.

There is, as the Ham and High wisely observes, a queue of people wanting to take the personal credit.

I'm highlighting one elderly resident here who was a resident in the days when Police Officers lived in the station from 1915-1922: Marguerite Greenland. The station was built in 1913.

The story here is that the canmpaign has been going on for a long time - over 8 years at least, and the current concern blew up in 2005 - since then and indeed since this piece of coverage - Mrs Greenland has passed away. But this post is a small thank-you to her and all the residents who joined the campaign.

It was a success - for now. Thanks again. Ed

That was the court that was...

There is a lot of noise and fury over the future of the Police Station - often the fight is charicatured as not being necessary. There can often be an atmosphere of "there there, don't you worry - it'll all be alright".

But in fact there is form on this topic.

The fight to save the police station is not a new thing and those who claim to have suddenly discovered it are bein a little silly and 'over-reaching themselves'.

Hampstead Police Station also contained a magistrates court - opened in 1913 with the station it has it's own side entrance (pictured below) - indeed the name plate is still on the side of the building.

The National Archives at Kew have a full record of the magistrates court and the on-line catalogue and it can be seen here
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=074-ham&cid=0

Thinking this through I realised that there is a whole wealth of lines of inquiry for here: it's where Ruth Ellis was held and charged before going on to become the tragic heroine - the last woman to be hanged in Britain. The magistrates court itself was build after the demand from the victorian era - the Thames Court had so many cases of child abuse - both labour and sexual that there was a need for a court more locally based (a reflection of both the growth of population and housing and also with regards to the concerns over child labour there mass of building work).

David Nobbs cut his journalistic teeth there when working as a court reporter there for the St Pancras Chronicle before going onto That Was The Week That Was.

The intersting thing with the closure story (the closures kicked in in 1997?) was that they were not universally opposed. Hampstead magistrates' court contained only one courtroom, and actually little space. According to one barrister who usedit before it closed it was a small as a "a toilet, or perhaps a large cupboard," she concedes.

On 11th September 1998 the Independent wrote: "In place of the smaller courthouses are springing up a smaller number of buildings, each one housing a greater number of courtrooms, larger space and greater facilities. The most recent to open in inner London was the seven-courtroom West London magistrates' court in Hammersmith. In almost every respect, the new buildings represent an improvement - except for hard-up defendants and witnesses who have to fork out for bus or Tube fares for the privilege of appearing in court."

But the issue remains what now for the preserved and listed magistrates court - perhaps a training centre for schools and police, a film set, a visit attraction - there are some intelligent options that are not simply mothballing and neglect, that could actually yield a benefit to the community.

Empty chair politics from our elected representative

So what is the role of the elected representative in Hampstead, for Camden and across London?

I don't take that close or especially active role towards the Greater London Assembly: I vote, I campaign in the run-up, I know the result, I know who my representative is, I look at the website occasionally. So I'm active but not obsessive.

I would rather hope that my elected representatives were a little more engaged.

So, on Wednesday I went to see the GLA in Plenary Session for the session of Questions to Deputy Mayor and Assembly Member Kit Malthouse on policing and crime issues .

This has been a major topic locally in Hampstead and Kilburn with the proposal to close Hampstead Police and reduce services at other stations with a central warehouse.

Indeed the whole MPA Estates Strategy has been contentious, badly handled etc etc. And the major development was the confirmation on Friday that the Consultation has been so poor that it was being suspended - so this was the first and only chance to discuss this in public with the Deputy Mayor responsible.

So when I arrived at the GLA session my elected representative saw me and nodded hello, he clearly must have known why I was there, so it was to my amazement that when police questions started he left. I sat open mouthed - he then returned as questions carried on and then when Dee Doocey started questions on the Estates Strategy he left the chamber again!

Now look, I don't expect miracles but this (policing) has been the single biggest issue facing our local patch and yet our elected representative left the room. He did it knowingly both to the topic and our presence (it wasn't just me watching).

So I photographed his empty chair (pic top right and right - immediate in foreground - Dep Mayor Kit Malthouse can be seen at the far side of the room taking questions) so he can't wriggle out of the self evident truth.

In a nutshell I'm furious - I think he let down the people of Hampstead and the Borough of Camden, I think he has proved the words of the local Conservartive Party to be shallow and hollow, I think he has shown himself to be ineffective, disinterested and revealed for being aheckling grandstander. it's poor form and it's poor representtaive democracy.

Sorry Brian Coleman - it was embarrassing and given a chance to stand up and be counted - you failed.

On this issue and for the future I now know and have seen for my own eyes that you can't be trusted. You're happy to stand up on a street corner and shout through a megaphone for the camera's, yet when faced with the job you are elected and paid to perform for us - namely to hold officials and the administration to account for us - you chose to have an empty chair. Pathetic!

I should add for the record that no other Conservative Assembly Member asked a single question on the estates strategy which was proposing the closure of 60 Police Stations across London - so much for the principled stand they claim to be taking!

Thanks to Dee Doocey and Caroline Pidgeon

The future of local police stations have been hanging in the balance since the Metropolitan Police Authority confirmed the proposed closure of Hampstead Police Station.

This has been a major issue and residents have been very against the plans.

To that end we submitted the FOI request which confirmed the closure plans, led the media campaign, submitted a massive petition to Sir Ian Blair and the MPA, have consistently kept residents informed of what is going on.

So yesterday was the plenary session of the Greater London Authority with Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse answering questions on policing and crime.

My huge personal thanks to Assembly Members Dee Doocey and Caroline Pidgeon who spoke up and asked detauiled questions on the MPA Asset Management Plan. It was confirmed that it was being put on hold, that there was now more time and that the consultation was flawed. Of course Camden looked pretty good as we accounted for 55.2% of all of the submissions across London.

Here are the main reports:
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/news/press/2008/08-037.htm

http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/cop/2008/080704/04.htm

You can see here the pic of myself and fellow police campaign Jo Shaw (Holdborn and St Pancras) with Dee and Caroline. It was great that they stood up for us and really reassuring that we have at least three months to get a meaningful dialgoue back on the table.

What puzzled me - and more on this to follow- was why there was so little questioning from the Conservative mnembers of the authority - this has been one of the biggest issues facing the area and yet they sat there in silence... all slightly bizarre.

Are we seeing some Police backsliding going on?

It's a difficult situation and it's ongoing but it's Hampstead Police Station again.

But is it possible that this picture of the number 26 house on Rosslyn Hill is in fact the entrance to what will be Hampstead Police Station?

In all of the discussions and debates the police have all been slightly coy about the reality of what is being looked at and explored. I am worried, and others are too, that the Police Estates Team intend to sell the current police station for a large capital reciept and decant into the house next door.

The fundamental problem is that replaces large freehold with smaller freehold which is preferable to going from freehold to leasehold, but as a piece of asset management it's a bonkers concept.

The other element that drives me to drink is the idea that the building is not fit for purpose. It's become one of the most over-used phrases in management speak and in this case it's not true.

There are many old buildings, most older than 1913 (it's Edwardian not Victorian as the police often claim!), that are quite easily used and indeed maintained. The truth is there is a problem due to neglect - pure and simple.

The police were given community assets and they have failed to maintain them. Not one penny has been meaningfully spent on Hampstead Police Station for far far too long - I suspect the same is not true of the offices of the senior officers at the top of the Met. This is a very real case whereby a little spent often would have avoided a financial trap.

So I strongly believe that it is entirely legitimate to say you need to invest now, enhance and preserve our assets and development in order to build the confidence of the community. No-one is suggesting the status quo - we all accept that that current counter (right) is acceptable and we know and want improvements. That's it, improvements and confidence, not neglect and disposal.

To this end I have written to our Borough Commander, Dominic Clout asking for some clarification and reassurance. he's dead good, connected and impressive so I'm vaguely hopeful... time will tell.

The letter in full:

Dear Dominic,

You are well aware of the ongoing concern about the future of Hampstead Police Station and the threat to reduce the number of uniformed police stationed in Hampstead (covering the areas Belsize, South End Green, Frognal, North End and Hampstead in particular – some 40,000 residents).

Today's coverage of the Police closures and London's MPA Asset Management Plans has acted as a timely reminder that consideration is currently being given to the consultation responses.

I wonder in the context of this if you might confirm what the precise timescale is for the reporting back of the consultation; what the status and nature of any such report or recommendation might be and who will make the final decision on the future of the station and the allocation of resources in the context of the property asset plans.

Further, I would be grateful if you could address current concerns that the MPA, encouraged by senior police offices within the Camden Borough structure, are actively considering converting the house to the side of the Hampstead station and would be seeking to re-designate that as the Police Station. As you know this is not considered to be an acceptable alternative by the community and I would be grateful if you could take this opportunity to scotch the notion that it is being actively explored.

I look forwards to hearing from you,

With best wishes

Ed Fordham, Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary campaigner
07974 950 512
ed.fordham@hampsteadandkilburn.org.uk

"Evening all!" in olde Hampstead Towne

No particular point of issue here, but this just seemed such a great picture to take.

It's the lamps at night outisde Hampstead Police Station and i just think it is great - it's just a shame that whilst the lights are on and people are at home the front desk is closed up and there is no public access...

It's quite easy to worry that if you hammered on the door you might not get a response.

But I guess that's one of the reasons why so many of us care so much about local policing and are prepared to fight and fight...

The old blue lamp though was one of the great signs of public reassurance in victorian and edwardian London. Considering that fear of crime is still one of the great worries of urban London, you would think that the Metropolitan Police Authority would have a greater understanding of the concerns of residents who are faced with police station closures!

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2008/05/vexed-issue-of-flags-great-pun.html

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2007/11/when-is-police-station-closure-not.html

The vexed issue of flags... (great pun!)

Here are two flags I found flying locally - the first is the Green Flag awarded to Queen's Park and the second is the new Union Flag flying from Hampstead Police Station (the team in blue seem rather proud of the new one :-))

So I went back to when flags first came about and their purpose. It all starts in ancient china (don't most things innovative?) and then spread across the far and near east. However, our linguistics gives a clue in that the study of flags come from vexillum - Latin for flag - and the study of flags is vexillology.

The flippant situation is that the flag is just a piece of identifiable cloth - now for identification but of old for signalling.

In medieval and indeed until recent times they were key military identifiers especially on a confused battlefield or at sea where they are lightweight and can therefore be elevated quite high.

But there is also something about the flying of a flag that is quite emotional and raises the heart and emotions. I guess that's how the patriotic dilemna has then kicked in...