Plans to increase the number of prisoner cells at a police station have been given the go ahead despite fears it will lead to the closure of police front counters in other town centres, including Streatham.

At a meeting last Tuesday, May 15, councillors granted provisional planning permission for the expansion of custody suites at Brixton police station.

The development, which will house 25 new cells, includes plans for improved CCTV, additional consultation rooms and modernised video interview rooms.

But opponents claim it marks the “prelude” to the closure of front counter services across the borough, as custody provisions at five stations including Streatham will be closed.

In May last year, the Met announced it was considering closing down 138 front counters in an attempt to save money.

In a report to Lambeth Council’s planning applications committee, the police said the new facility in Brixton would “improve efficiency” and ensure officers had more time to patrol the streets through a centralised borough police service.

It said: “It is anticipated there will be an increased demand on the current facilities due to a growing population.

“To respond to the operational challenges and significantly improve the way the borough is policed, a single specialist custody facility is proposed.

“This would improve efficiency allowing more officers the time to spend policing Lambeth.”

But Streatham Hill councillor Kita Ogden said the new custody arrangements would need to be observed closely, adding they should not be used as an excuse for closing front counters.

She said: “Now that planning has been granted for the new custody suites, their use must be monitored to ensure our local police are not forced to travel to Brixton each time they want to place someone in custody.

“Under no circumstances should the newly available suites in Brixton be used as a reason to stop providing any functions currently undertaken in Streatham police station.”