Ealing Liberal Democrats have raised concerns about crime and public safety across Ealing and its seven towns, highlighting reduced public access to police stations and the end of 24-hour opening at Acton Police Station’s public front counter.
Acton Police station will no longer offer 24-hour front counter access from 3 March 2026, with opening hours due to change to 10am to 10pm on weekdays and 9am to 7pm at weekends. The changes form part of wider Metropolitan Police plans to close a £260m funding gap.
Ealing Liberal Democrats said the borough would have no overnight access to a police front counter once the new hours take effect, with the nearest 24-hour public front counter at Charing Cross in central London, about 10 miles away.
Councillor Connie Hersch, the party’s spokesperson for crime, anti-social behaviour, communities and culture, said: “Ealing Liberal Democrats are appalled at the abandonment of the most vulnerable in our borough who are denied safety and access to 24-hour face-to-face police services. The limits on police services come despite the need to tackle rising anti-social behaviour, often around transport hubs and in areas such as West Ealing.”
Under the Met’s restructuring programme, only two police stations, Charing Cross and Lewisham, will continue to provide 24-hour public front counter access across London. The Met said the programme was designed to save £7m while focusing resources on frontline duties.
The force said it would keep 27 front counters open across the capital, seven more than originally proposed, after public consultation. It said feedback indicated Londoners valued local access more than all-night availability.
The Metropolitan Police said most reports are now made without visiting a front counter. The Met stated: “Londoners will continue to be able to book appointments to see an officer and report a crime, access video appointments, phone 999 and 101, report online and contact their local ward officers, and phones will be installed outside closed front counters to minimise the impact.”
