U-turn could be made on closing Newark Police Station and moving officers to council building

New police and crime commissioner to hold public consultation

A U-turn could be made on a controversial decision to close Newark Police Station and move police officers to a purpose-built building at the council offices.

The new police and crime commissioner, Caroline Henry, is planning to run a public consultation to find out what residents want in the town.

Mrs Henry has not divulged the details on whether the plans to close the station would be scrapped but she will be taking another look at the decision as part of her Police and Crime Plan.

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live before she won the election, she discussed police station closures across the county.

She said: “I have very strong views on this – I think police stations are more than bricks and mortar. They are the symbol of policing in your community.

“I am really worried about our police stations being closed in towns and villages across the county.

“We have a black hole when it comes to police stations in the north of the county. In Newark, our previous police and crime commissioner said he was not going to close custody suites but he has closed the custody suites in Newark – and now he is going to close the police station.

“I really think these decisions need to be looked at. The crime in Newark has been getting higher and people do not feel safe in Newark.

“I think it is really important we have those police stations.”

Her full police and crime plan on how to solve the issues affecting Nottinghamshire will be revealed later this year.

But she has stated early on that she will hold a public consultation on the decision to relocate Newark Police Station as part of a wider review of the police estates strategy.

She told the Police and Crime Panel at County Hall on Monday, June 8: “My plan is ambitious and leaves no stone unturned – more officers on our streets, tackling rural crime through a new dedicated resource, investing in more frontline officers, reviewing our local estates and setting up a gender-based violence strategy.

“It will be a full public consultation to really understand what the public want in Newark and I will be doing a review – it will be made in July with a decision made in August.”

She stressed that her plan would be informed by the public and that she wants the force to be “unapologetically tough in criminals.”

Plans to close Newark Police Station and move officers to a purpose-built unit at the council offices could save the force around £100,000 a year.

Speaking last August, Chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, Craig Guildford, said this was not a cost-cutting exercise and meant that more officers would be working in the town as a result of the move.

Nottinghamshire Police has been working with the Newark Towns Fund Board on proposals to relocate the current police station at Queen’s Road to Castle House, which is Newark and Sherwood District Council’s headquarters.

The police station would then be demolished with plans for new homes and businesses to be built on the site in a bid to improve the area.

The force said releasing the land the police station is on would help transform the town centre and help “design out crime” following a rise in anti-social behaviour.

He said: “The police station is on prime land and releasing this is the key to allowing the Newark Towns Fund Board to be able to realise its ambitions for this area.

“The area within which the current police station is based has high levels of deprivation and our departure will enable a significant new development to be assembled.

“To me, this is a no brainer – we need to design out crime and we need to work in a more agile way with our partners to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Newark going forward, which relocating together gives us the opportunity and ambition to do so.”

“We are going to build a new station at the back of the council building. The only thing that is going to happen to the police officers in Newark is the numbers will grow.”

The police said officers had not been moved out of the station yet and the proposals were just on paper rather than any money being spent on the new build at the council offices.

 

 

Article originally appeared on the Nottinghamshire live.

The Institute cannot confirm the accuracy of this story or confirm that it presents a balanced view. If you feel this is inaccurate we would welcome your perspective and evidence that this is the case

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