Carl Mellor, head of planning at Dudley Council, has accredited the conversion of Castlegate Home on the sting of Dudley city centre right into a ‘tremendous police station’ serving the entire of the borough.
It will likely be the primary time there was a police station in Dudley city centre because the station in New Road closed in 2017.
The brand new base will substitute Brierley Hill police station, which is because of shut by the tip of subsequent 12 months.
A report by planning officer Richard Stevenson mentioned a complete of 422 workers and officers can be based mostly within the constructing, off Castlegate Island, with as much as two-thirds on responsibility at anybody time.
The brand new station will embody a entrance desk open to the general public, assembly rooms for officers and an interview room. However there will likely be no cells for prisoners.
Mr Mellor dominated that the shortage of custody cells meant the plans may very well be fast-tracked as a ‘lawful growth’, with out having to undergo the complete planning course of because the constructing would nonetheless be for predominantly workplace use.
Mr Stevenson mentioned that in a earlier case in London, the presence of the entrance counter had been deemed to symbolize a change of use.
Nonetheless, he mentioned on this case, the scale of the constructing, which might be predominantly used for administrative functions, meant that it may nonetheless be categorized as an workplace constructing.
West Midlands police and crime commissioner Simon Foster introduced final month the proposals to maneuver Dudley’s police base from Brierley Hill to Castlegate Home.
In the meanwhile the constructing is house to basic automobile insurance coverage dealer Footman James, which has a lease on the constructing till November 2024.
Brierley Hill’s neighbourhood policing workforce will stay within the city although, with a brand new base within the space being sought.
Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, who pledged to marketing campaign for a brand new police station when he was elected in 2019, welcomed the event.
He mentioned the shortage of a visual police presence within the city was one thing that was commonly introduced up at his recommendation surgical procedures.
“The brand new station will imply sooner response charges and a higher police presence to deal with the problems we’re seeing, notably within the city centre and on the Excessive Road.” he mentioned.
