Future of Stafford town centre police station questioned

The Eastgate Street building is in an area of the town centre earmarked for regeneration and the nearby former magistrates’ court has been demolished in recent months.

Several former police buildings have been declared surplus to requirements by Staffordshire Police in recent years, in areas including Stone and Eccleshall, and the buildings have been sold off, with police moving to other facilities such as Stone Town Council’s offices.

In Hanley Staffordshire Police moved out of their old city centre base a year ago to share the nearby fire station with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Both services are also sharing a building in Tamworth.

The latest police spending programme has budgeted £320,000 investment in 2022/23 towards adapting community fire stations in Stone, Kidsgrove, Rugeley and Uttoxeter into “joint locations”.

A report presented to the latest Police, Fire and Crime Panel meeting said a joint Estates Strategy was being developed by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner with Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

It added: “Alongside the ability to work and operate from modern facilities contained within the estate operated by the fire service is the ability to generate capital receipts and ongoing revenue savings from the disposal of surplus estate. These receipts have been reinvested back into the capital programme and the revenue savings are used to support the revenue budget.”

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams was asked about plans for Stafford town centre’s station at the panel meeting.

Councillor Ann Edgeller asked: “What is the future of Stafford Police Station? It could be altered or it could be moved and I wondered what the up to date information was.

“A lot of people are concerned we might lose the police station.”

Mr Adams responded: “We’re continually reviewing all of the locations and the new police operating model will affect that. It means a more substantial commitment to a key station in each locality because they will be managing their own response again.

“Whether Stafford, with the location in the town centre, is the best place, we’re not too sure. I know the Chief Constable wants to retain some very local neighbourhood capacity serving the town centre but it might not be the ideal location for response in the way that it currently is.

“Also, I’m very aware if we’ve got towns with plans and Government money to improve town centres we’ve got an asset that is not necessarily complementing that. I’m up for a conversation about freeing up the economic benefit and we’ve been doing that all across the county, in Tamworth and other places as well. In Newcastle we’ve put a station into the hub (Castle House) as part of their town centre plan.

“There is nothing specific about Stafford at the moment, although it is right at the edge of that development site. It’s OK as a building but there’s quite a big backlog of repair costs to bring it up to spec. If the alternative is a better location and a better building we will be doing that.

“There are people who get very anxious about stations – they think stations are policing. It isn’t.

“Stations are tasking, once or twice a day – here’s where you’re going today, here’s what you’re doing, there’s your locker. Policing is out in the community, it’s on the roads, it’s in the areas where there’s issues, it’s doing the job.

“We’ve got some buildings that aren’t very good, quite frankly, for the staff to operate from. And we’ve got buildings in a location where if you’re in a vehicle and you need to get somewhere quickly being in a town centre is not necessarily the best place.

“Being just outside of the ring road could be spot on.”