The announcement that Oldham will be getting a new police station to cover our borough is extremely welcome, and shows the difference Labour is making in power after over a decade of Tory austerity. However, concerned about the suitability and capacity of the new facility, and we are calling for a wider new police and justice centre to be built.
Our borough has seen some of the most visible frontline cuts in Greater Manchester, impacting confidence in justice and policing and I am concerned that designing in a downgraded police station will bake this in for decades to come, spending millions of taxpayers’ money in the process.
We have been campaigning for a new police station for years, having listened to officers and staff who work in Oldham over a long time, it is clear the building is long past it’s sell by date, and workers have an ‘Oldham premium’ of thousands of pounds to pay to park owing to the lack of GMP parking provision. It is having an impact on the ability of the division to attract and retain staff.
The closure of both the County Court and the Magistrates Court, and the closure of Royton Police Station, Failsworth Police Station, Chadderton Police Station and police posts at Limeside and Chadderton, and the impact of victim experience when reporting crimes, it is understandable why so many people feel that justice has left town.
This is an opportunity to put that right – it is what local people deserve.
Therefore, I have written to the Mayor of Greater Manchester to push for a better outcome for local people: a new police and justice centre to be built with both functioning police cells, and court rooms to allow the processing of offenders in the our borough.
One of the four key local priorities we put forward for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton was to create a safe place. Progress is being made with upcoming delivery of our neighbourhood policing guarantee of 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗣𝗖𝗦𝗢𝘀 to tackle flytipping, retail crime, youth knife crime & anti-social behaviour; the upcoming rolling out the 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 as part of a prevention strategy; and the creation of the 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁 in Greater Manchester.
However, the Oldham branch GMP team, who we continue to be working with closely, need modern facilities and infrastructure with sufficient capacity to take back our streets from crime. We will continue to push for the best outcome for residents.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 