Kennington residents demand ‘Give us old police station’
BY KATE DENNETT
toby@slpmedia.co.uk
More than 100 people gathered on Sunday to protest against plans to sell a police station to the highest bidder for development.
Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to sell Kennington police station – and they fear it could be turned into luxury flats.
But the site is already listed as an asset of community value (ACV), protecting it from some forms of rebuilding.
Residents want the building to remain part of their community.
Waterloo charity Oasis is leading a campaign to change the station into a free community space for families.
Oasis has sent a photo of the gathering to the Mayor to show him how much the building means to them.
Steve Chalke, leader of Oasis Waterloo, said: “At a time when local communities have never been so starved of space and services, will the Mayor’s Office allow this vital building to become yet another bland box feeding the insatiable appetite of property developers and corporate greed, adding to the social problems facing our city?
So we are calling on local residents to sign the #SaveOurCommunityAsset petition and send a clear message to the Mayor’s Office this building belongs to us and we are claiming it for the community.”
They have launched a petition for 100 signatures to support their protest.
The building was given the status of a ACV in January following an application by Oasis Hub Waterloo.
If campaigners win the right to take over the building, they plan to offer the Met a desk so that a permanent police presence this can be maintained.
Oasis Waterloo have led many other local projects, including The Hub Coffee House and the Waterloo Foodbank.
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