Canada Water coppers evicted from base, leaving residents fearful of crime

Cops have been evicted from their base in Canada Water, sparking fears within the community over the future of policing in the area.

The current patrol base at Seven Islands Leisure Centre, in Lower Road, was evicted on March 31 due to the building’s closure. 

The Leisure Centre was earmarked by the council for the re-development of around 1,000 new homes in partnership with British Land.

The new Canada Water Leisure Centre is set to open this summer, but no replacement location has been secured for the coppers. 

Since the eviction, bobbies covering the area have been based three miles away at Southwark Police Station on Borough High Street.

It’s understood that various sites have been offered to the Met, but no agreement has been reached.

Liberal Democrat for Surrey Docks, Cllr Adam Hood, said: “Labour run the ward, the council and City Hall. Their failure to act means Rotherhithe could now lose its police hub completely.”

Delays in finding an alternative site mean Rotherhithe has been left without a fixed police base for the first time in more than 60 years.

A Southwark council spokesman said the local authority had liaised with the Met to give them 12 months notice on their tenancy, which ended on March 31.

He said: “This agreement was amicable and made in good time.”

This comes amid rising concern about phone snatching, antisocial behaviour and bike and vehicle thefts in the area. 

JK Doran, 32, of Rotherhithe Street, said: “When I speak with my neighbours, the first thing that always comes up is the rise of phone snatching and antisocial behaviour in the area. 

“It’s worrying that we could lose our local police base entirely, especially as the area prepares to welcome so many new homes. 

“On the Rotherhithe Peninsula, we need more visible policing and not less – so I’m fully behind the Lib Dems’ push to fix this and give the Met a base.”

The 27,000-strong population of Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks is expected to increase dramatically with the construction of the Canada Water masterplan – with accompanying concerns that this could lead to a further spike in crime.

A Met Police spokesman said there “continues to be a police presence in Rotherhithe and Canada Water” and that emergency response officers are not affected by the move.

A Southwark council spokesman said: “The cabinet member for community safety and neighbourhoods and the community safety team are working closely with ward councillors, Neil Coyle (MP) and residents to ensure there is visible police presence in the areas the Rotherhithe Safer Neighbourhood Teams are tasked to.”

Southwark Liberal Democrats have written to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and are urging the local authority to make use of Canada Water Library – which is owned by the council – as an interim police base.

Lib Dem councillors have also proposed doubling the number of council-employed community safety officers, but Labour voted this down in the last budget.

Cllr Hood said: “We’ve put forward a practical solution – use Canada Water Library as a base now – and Labour must stop dragging their feet and get on with it.”

The eviction means the nearest police presence will be the station on Walworth Road.

A Southwark council spokesman said the authority would continue to discuss alternative premises with the Met.

He said: “On top of this, as part of our commitment to increase trust and confidence in the Met, we have met with senior police colleagues who have provided a visibility plan – to be shared with residents in due course.  

“Further to this we met the acting BCU Commander to highlight our concerns about the Rotherhithe SNT not being within 20 minutes of the wards. We continue to work in partnership with the Met to provide reassurance .”

A Met spokesman said: “Any alternative base would require fitting out to a police specification at a significant cost. We continue to welcome opportunities to discuss alternative locations.”

Pictured top: From left, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition cllr Victor Chamberlain with Rotherhithe resident JK Doran (Picture: Southwark Liberal Democrats)