Show Determination at Public Meeting
Since the closure of the Police Station on Central Avenue, the Police in Newton Aycliffe have been serving the community from ‘temporary’ premises on the Business Park. As people are discovering, this ‘temporary’ Station is a considerable distance from where most people live and is in a very inaccessible location.
As far as I can gather, an overwhelming number of people want a visible Police presence somewhere in the centre of the town, within reasonably easy access of where they live e.g. on a bus route. This is not an outlandish request – as some Councillors maintain – but is the fundamental right of those whose taxes pay for this vital service to the community.
We are told that no decision has been made yet about the future of the closed Police Station on Central Avenue. The expectation is that it will be demolished and the site sold to a developer – all contrary to the undertaking first given, when the Station closure was announced, that a new Station would be built on the site.
The fear now – and it is not an unreasonable one – is that the ‘temporary’ Station on the Business Park will become the permanent location for the Police.
In my experience, we have been blessed with a good police service in Aycliffe. Officers are always obliging and helpful. But I suspect that they, as well as residents, must be unhappy at being so far removed from the community they serve.
There may be compelling financial reasons why a fully equipped new Station in the town centre would be too costly to build. In the present economic climate this would be understandable. However, this should not prevent the Police from establishing a strong visible presence in one of the empty retail units in the town (with holding cells located elsewhere) to which the public would have easy access.
One of the empty units between Argos and Tesco would be ideal and much better than an ‘office’ in the Fire Station which is being proposed by the Police authority. It could be staffed during shopping hours when residents would have easy access to report or discuss their concerns, and seek reassurance where needed.
Critically, it would place the Police Service at the heart of the Aycliffe community, allow it to promote its activities and gain even better contact with the public.
At the recent public meeting at St Mary’s Church, County Council officials listened to the complaints of residents over wheelie bins and subsequently changed their policy.
Residents can have the same effect again at the next Public Meeting at St Mary’s on Thursday 20th September at 7pm when Policing in Our Community will be discussed.
The Police Authority Chairman will attend and residents will have the opportunity express their views and voice their concerns. I urge Newton News readers and all those concerned about the future of our community to take part.
Fr Michael Campion
St Mary’s Church
