ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE TO VISIT DUDLEY OVER POLICE STATION EVENING CLOSURE

Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Sharon Rowe will discuss the planned evening closure of the police station with Dudley MP Ian Austin and local shop owners today.

Since the plans to close the New Street station were revealed in mid-November nearly 2,500 have voiced their opposition to the plans by signing a petition launched by Austin.

Austin submitted the petition to a meeting of the Police Authority in December where it was announced the deadline on the consultation would be extended to January 15.

Ahead of the deadline, Austin will take Sharon Rowe to meet local shop owners to hear why they think cutting front desk hours would be bad for the town.

They will meet outside Dudley police station at 3pm.

Ian Austin MP said:

“I think the police do a fantastic job and Sharon Rowe should be praised for making the effort to come down to hear for herself why the majority residents and shop owners are opposed to these plans.

“Since this plan was revealed I’ve barely spoken to a person in Dudley who supports it. Dudley is the largest town on the list of places threatened by closure and I don’t think there’s anywhere of a similar size in the region that would not have a station open to the public in the evening. The fact that nearly 2,500 residents and counting have signed our petition shows the level of concern.”