Oldham ‘left in the dark’ amidst calls for ‘proper’ police station

Oldham is still waiting for updates on its ‘urgently needed’ new police station after it emerged the plans did not include any jail cells.

The town hall and local MPs say they are negotiating with GMCA and Greater Manchester Police while hunting for a ‘suitable location’. 

Without local holding cells, officers have to travel out-of-borough to book any criminals they arrest – taking them away from policing streets for upwards of an hour. 

The town has been waiting for a replacement of its ‘crumbling’ station on Barn Street – which was once described as ‘like something in Communist East Germany’ – for more than five years. 

Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, who first discovered plans for the new station were missing jails, says residents are being ‘left in the dark’. 
The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “We have been absolutely clear about what our borough needs – a modern police station with proper custody facilities. Despite that, there remains a real lack of information about where decisions are up to and what realistic timescales are.”

Local MP Jim McMahon met with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Deputy Mayor Kate Green last October to negotiate cells. Mr McMahon previously claimed locals felt ‘justice had left town’ after the bulldozing of the former Magistrates Court and several station closures in the last decade. 

The MP is now trying to lobby government for a justice overhaul for the town – to replace the Magistrates Courts that were closed down in 2016. 
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the negotiations for a new justice centre and more detailed police station plans are ‘still ongoing’. 

A spokesperson for Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “The deputy mayor fully supports the need for a new police station for Oldham that is fit for purpose for police officers, staff and the public.

“While there have been no new developments since she updated councillors and the local MP several months ago, the deputy mayor and GMP will continue to work with Oldham Council to identify a suitable site as soon as possible.”

GMP did not wish to comment on this issue.