THE leader of St Helens Council Derek Long has written to the Merseyside Crime Commissioner to express "profound concerns" over the reduction in opening hours of Newton-le-Willows police station.

On Monday, the St Helens Police Facebook page announced opening hours at Newton-le-Willows station had "changed" and would now only be open to the public "between 8am and 4pm on Fridays" for those who "want to speak to someone face to face".

Cllr Long said the "effective closure"of the station of six days a week is a decision which "undermines public confidence in the police".

In a letter to Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy, Cllr Long said: "I am writing to set out my profound concerns at the sudden announcement of an effective closure of the Newton-le-Willows General Enquiry Office (GEO) for six days a week.

"This is the second time a GEO in St Helens has been threatened with closure without any public consultation in the past few months.

"Such actions undermine public confidence in the police as a partner in our work in making a better borough.

"I believe this is a policing decision taken on operational grounds by officers. As such, it contradicts the estates strategy that you as PCC have been adopting."

It added: "We understand that government cutbacks are undermining police resources.

"However, it is not clear why this decision should suddenly be necessary and especially in a location where the nearest station is much further away than for many other stations.

"GEO's constitute an important element in the public's perception of the police.

"Closing the doors sends entirely the wrong message about the service and its accessibility to the whole community - many of whom may be digitally excluded due to age or income.

"As Labour councillors, we regard this as a retrograde step.

"We are opposed to the shutting of General Enquiry Offices wherever they are without thorough public consultation.

"We would ask for an urgent meeting with officers to discuss what alternatives might be implemented so that residents are not faced with a long journey to engage with their police."

Explaining the decision, Superintendent Mark Stanton said "current resource levels mean we are unable to maintain the current opening hours across all 12 stations without taking a police officer from the front line to cover any shortages" and added "Newton-le-Willows is one of our lowest demand station across the force".

Supt Stanton added: "We need to make efficient use of all of our resources. We are working hard as a force to balance the needs and expectations of all the communities we serve.

"The force is recognising and responding to the shift in community expectation and exploring ways to provide the best service possible with the resources and technology available to us.

“We have also introduced more interactive services on the force website which allows the public to report non-emergency crime and traffic collisions online.

"This is the highest public demand for our enquiry office services.

"Together with the launch of the social media desk the public can now get timely advice without coming in to the station.

“Newton-le-Willows is a fully operational police station with a sergeant led community team working from there.

"The community team is supported by our emergency patrol and investigation teams operating from St Helens."