**Thames Valley Police have requested a clarification to this article - see below for lines added

RESIDENTS have raised concerns over safety in their estate after a police office was apparently closed indefinitely.

The shutters at Marston and Northway Neighbourhood Police Office, on Westlands Drive, have been shut for ‘weeks’ but the unit will now officially be closed ‘forever’ after the lease is up in May.

Joe McManners, city councillor for Headington Hill and Northway, said: “I want reassurance from the police that there will still be police presence around the area and around the estate.

“Neighbouring police has been good for reassuring people.

“At first it was temporarily shut and the shutters were down, but it will actually be shut forever.”

Dr McManners added: "It’s not a great sign for neighbouring police, it will create problems.”

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “In the last eight years, a number of measures have been put in place by Thames Valley Police to reduce estate costs while being committed to protecting the frontline.

“The lease on the Northway Police Community Support Office ends in May 2019, and will remain in use until this time.”

They added that there were currently 'no specific opening hours'.

The hub, in one of the units next to newsagents on the drive, opened in 2010, taking the total of community police offices in the county up to 24.

At the time, PC Jon Shaw from the neighbouring police team said the base would make police officers more visible to the community they served.

Georgina Gibbs of the Northway Residents Association said the closure would have a major impact on the estate.

She said: “I think having it there worked as a deterrent.

“A police presence meant the anti-social behaviour was reduced.

“It is useful to have accessible police, it’s a shame it’s closed.”

Northway is home to a population of around 7,000 people.

According to the Police.UK crime map, in August, 214 crimes were reported to Thames Valley Police in North East Oxford.

The catchment covers Marston, Headington, Wood Farm and Northway.

The force added: “A programme of reviewing and identifying properties for disposal has been in place since 2010. We continue to work with partners to explore opportunities for co-location, other cost reductions or service delivery initiatives.”

**Clarification - 

On Wednesday, the Oxford Mail reported on the closure of a police office in Northway. 

Thames Valley Police will shut the office – which the Oxford Mail is happy to clarify is an office and not a station as reported – in May 2019 when the lease is up. 

The shutters, which residents say have been down at the Marston and Northway Neighbourhood Police Office, on Westlands Drive, for ‘weeks’, will remain closed.

Spokesman James Williams said the office was never actually open to the public, despite residents and local councillors telling the Oxford Mail they had previously walked in and out freely to chat with officers when the shutters were open.