No more front desks will close at police stations in Cheshire, the county’s police and crime commissioner has said.
Dan Price added that he also had no plans to alter the number of custody suites in the county
“There is no plan to close any of the custody suites, none whatsoever,” he said
“Custody suites are incredibly expensive, so there are not any plans to build any more either,” he said.
“In terms of front desks, there is no plan to close any more front desks. The previous commissioner did, I have got no plans to close any more.”
Crewe Police Station
Mr Price said he had visited all the police stations across the Cheshire Police force area and described Crewe as being by far the worst.
However said Crewe and Wilmslow police stations would be the only towns in Cheshire to get new police stations, due to lack of finances.
Speaking about Crewe’s police station, he said: “It’s got RAAC concrete on the top floor, meaning the whole entire top floor isn’t usable.
“It’s got asbestos right the way through, which has obviously been managed appropriately, but means that it’s right that, at some point, we move into a modern building.”
He said he was happy to proceed with plans for a new station.
Wilmslow Police Station
Regarding Wilmslow, Mr Price said: “The proposal itself is a very strong proposal, and also it’s releasing land for other use to the benefit of the wider community as well.”
He told councillors at a recent meeting of the police and crime panel: “In terms of building new stations, to have them in closer distances to other communities, that’s not on the horizon within this [police and crime] plan, purely because of the economics around that.”
He said he would prefer to use the force’s budget to provide a “more visible policing presence versus more bricks and mortar.”
He said he was keen of other options be considered too – such as safety vans the force has available.
Follow So Cheshire on Facebook, Threads and Instagram. You can also email cheshire@so-counties.co.uk with your story ideas or to enquire about advertising opportunities.
