Police shelve plan to cut station opening hours

The PSNI announced last month that the borough's policing headquarters would be closed to the public for "routine business" between 11pm and 8am from April 1.

However, following an outcry about the plan and claims that the police had failed to consult with the local District Policing Partnership, the move has been postponed until September.

Following a meeting with DPP representatives and District Commander Henry Irvine last week, Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay commented: "We fully understand that the decision to reduce the hours at enquiry offices at Antrim, Lisburn, Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus stations has led to some concern in the community, and amongst politicians, DPP members and other key stakeholders. This meeting was about listening to these views and looking at how the police and DPPs can work together to build strong relationships that will benefit the whole community."

He added: "In order to create the space for us to have these discussions around working better together, the decision was taken to postpone the implementation of the revised opening hours until September 2010.

Read the full story in this week's Times...