The roof of an East London police station badly damaged when it caught fire over a year ago is set to be rebuilt as part of fresh plans from the Metropolitan Police.
Forest Gate Police Station’s entire roof and some of the building itself was destroyed when it caught alight in a blaze on 6 March last year.
At the time of the fire, about 175 firefighters and 30 engines attended the scene and some 60 people were evacuated from the building. Nobody was injured in the blaze. Newham Council’s Local Development Committee is set to approve of the plans at a meeting next week (23 June).
Following the fire, the Met’s 999 response officers were relocated elsewhere and a mobile front counter was set up at Stratford. According to a planning report which was published by Knight Frank on behalf of MOPAC (The Mayors Office for Policing and Crime), the station will remain empty until the roof is rebuilt.
The replacement roof will be the same height as the previous one and will be made using standing seam aluminium. The new roof will also include windows which planning officers have said will provide functionality and usability for the newly replaced top floor.
Additionally a substation and switch rooms are to be built at the south-eastern corner of the site and there will be a new pedestrian crossing located at Green Street. There are plans to build a three-story extension to provide more police station facilities and the number of car parking spaces are set to be increased from 62 to 74.
The plans will see the introduction of 50 cycle parking spaces for both long and short stays. During the consultation stage, 161 letters were sent out to neighbouring properties which saw one person respond in support and another person who was neither objecting nor supporting.
Concerns were raised about light pollution from the existing light strategy and for any new strategy to take into account neighbouring properties. Planning officers said in a report that any lighting strategy would have to be submitted and approved by the council prior to installing them.
They said: “Whilst officers acknowledge the comments regarding the existing lighting arrangement as this is historic and in situ it would not be appropriate to mandate their removal and/or alterations as part of this scheme but officers can and will control the design and amenity consideration of any new lighting.”
Planning officers have recommended the council’s Local Development Committee approves the plans, which they said are of a “sufficiently high architectural standard”.
