Liberal Democrat councillors have reacted with disappointment to news from Haringey Police that they are putting on hold plans to re-open the front counter at Muswell Hill police station.

Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for the front counter to reopen, with a system of trained volunteers already successfully used elsewhere. Last year they organised a successful public meeting to give the police the chance to explain how such a scheme would work, attended by over 200 residents.

However, the police have now concluded that there are not enough volunteers available for a full-scale reopening of the front counter.

Muswell Hill councillor Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This is very disappointing, but the fight goes on to reopen the police station. Local people must have face-to-face access to the police.

“There is a great deal of support fro the reopening in Muswell Hill, with over 200 people attending a public meeting I organised last year, and many applying to be volunteers.”

Ms. Featherstone has asked the police to consider reopening the counter for a limited number of hours each week, using the volunteers who have already come forward:

“Starting small and building up to longer opening hours is an approach that has worked successfully elsewhere. I hope Haringey Police will look seriously at taking this forward given the high levels of demands amongst residents for the restoration of the front counter.”