The Garda Síochána Policing Plan for 2008 published this week confirms that the station on Watercourse Road faces closure this year as first reported in the Cork Independent in January 2007. Despite confirmation in the plan that the station will close, the gardaí were unable to provide further details about when and where a replacement station would be located when asked by this newspaper.

Local TD Bernard Allen raised the issue several times with former Justice Minister Michael McDowell who did not give a definitive answer as to whether the station would close or not. Despite questioning from the Cork Independent back in January 2007 the Department of Justice the Garda Síochána and the Office of Public Works  were all unable to comment on the matter.

Reacting to the news that the station is indeed to close, Deputy Allen said, “ I want a full statement from the Minister on this as soon as the Dáil resumes. The people of Blackpool were misled on this before the election. Despite constant questioning about the future of the station various authorities as well as the then Justice Minister refused to answer the question and it’s now obvious why that was the case”.

Deputy Allen said that the public had a right to know exactly what type of new station was proposed and where it would be located.

“In effect we will have seen three garda stations on the northside close to be replaced by just one. Any new station must be of a very high standard and capacity to cover the area previously covered by three stations,” he said.

Local councillor Patricia Gosch said that she was extremely concerned about the prospect of there not being a garda station in Blackpool Village. Cllr Gosch said that only this week she had had complaints from elderly people in the area around Maddens Buildings and she added that the presence of a garda station in the village area was imperative. “The gardaí must maintain strong connections with the local community,” she said, “any move out of the village into the retail park area will rightly be seen as a negative step”.

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