Could former police station become new health hub?

Teddington Police Station has been closed for four years

Police counters are closing across London as the Met Police tries to save £7m. One police station in south-west London has been closed since 2021 - but there are hopes new life can be breathed into it.

Park Road GP surgery, opposite the former Teddington Police Station, has "about 25%" of the national recommended space that it should have, according to Dr Nick Grundy.

He says moving across the road, into bigger premises, "would solve our problems at a stroke".

A spokesperson for the mayor said the police station's future was dependent on the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Estates Strategy, due to be published before the end of the year.

Dr Grundy said Teddington's former police station was "about the size we need" to solve the Park Road Surgery's problems.

"We used to train medical students, but we had to stop that because of space concerns," he said.

He said the cramped consulting rooms and building entrance steps all created accessibility problems - and needed to be resolved.

Dr Nick Grundy said moving into the former police station would "solve our problems at a stroke"

Dr Grundy said the building would also provide enough space to work on more joined-up health outcomes.

He added: "We would like to do a lot more with our community partners. We have really good relationships with local charities and we run a lot of services through them.

"There's a lot more we can do when people can sit in the same building and physically share that environment."

He added that hopes for the building included some affordable housing and the option of a police front counter.

"If [the Met] want that, we would love to do that again," Dr Grundy said. "It's another community service and it makes it a building that's not just health."

MP Munira Wilson said the building should not be sold to private developers

Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, urged the Met and the mayor to accept a bid for the building that was lower than a private developer, so that it could become a new GP surgery.

"Teddington Police Station has been lying derelict for about four years now, going to rack and ruin, and the community is desperate to see it turned into a much-needed, brand new state-of-the-art GP surgery and socially rented homes," she said.

"The Met Police have been very clear they're not planning to reopen Teddington Police Station. They desperately need cash. We've got a GP surgery and local housing associations desperate to turn it into a health facility and much needed housing.

"For me it's a no-brainer, for the community it's a no-brainer, so I'm really calling on the Met Police to finally come forward, put it on the market and don't sell it to a luxury developer."

Last month, the Met Police said it was closing 10 police station front counters under cost-cutting measures, leaving London with two front counters operating 24 hours a day.

Plans to partially demolish and convert Catford Police Station in south London into 63 new housing association flats were recently recommended for approval.

Additional reporting by Ruby Gregory, Local Democracy Reporting Service.