MP launches petition to save Berkhamsted Police Station

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, has launched a public petition to save Berkhamsted Police Station from closure, warning that losing the station would deal a serious blow to visible policing across the town and surrounding rural communities.

The station currently houses the Berkhamsted neighbourhood policing team and serves as a vital operational base for officers responding to 999 calls in the area. Victoria has been in direct contact with Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, raising concerns about the impact on community visibility and public confidence.

The Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner has confirmed that a break clause in the lease has been activated, with no agreement yet reached. This leaves the future of the station in real doubt.

Victoria has written to the PCC urging him to prioritise maintaining the Berkhamsted police station to ensure that there is no reduction in the neighbourhood policing presence that residents rely on. She is also calling on the government to provide better financial settlements for policing, a situation which is directly contributing to the pressure on community policing assets.

Victoria said: ‘Berkhamsted deserves a proper police presence, not a postcode lottery where visibility depends on whether a lease deal can be struck. I’ve heard from residents and officers alike that community policing is the bedrock of public safety in our town, and that’s exactly what’s now under threat. If the station closes without a proper alternative in place, we could lose not just a building, but the neighbourhood team that knows our streets, our communities, and our residents.

‘We must maintain a police station in Berkhamsted for our town and also the surrounding villages.  The financial pressures driving this situation are not accidents – they are the direct consequence of years of underfunding and inadequate settlements from central government. This government must give police forces the resources and precept flexibility they need to protect front-line community assets.

‘I’m urging everyone in Berkhamsted and the surrounding villages to sign my petition and send a clear message: our neighbourhood policing team must stay. People across Berkhamsted and the villages deserve a police station that’s visible, central, and here for the long term – not one that’s quietly negotiated away.’

The petition can be found at www.hbld.uk/police.