Work to begin on city’s new police station

Work is due to start on a new police station in the centre of Bath.

The neighbourhood beat team will move from Redbridge House in Lower Bristol Road to the revamped premises in Lewis House, home to Bath and North East Somerset Council’s One Stop Shop.

The police station was previously a stone’s throw away across Manvers Street in a building sold by the force in 2015 for £7m that is now occupied by the University of Bath.

Although there will be some disruption during work that is expected to be finished by next spring, Avon and Somerset Police said the service provided to the public will not be affected.

Chief inspector Steve Kendall, the B&NES neighbourhood and partnerships lead, said: “Being located on Manvers Street will not only allow the neighbourhood policing team to remain visible within the community but will also provide huge benefits in terms of enhancing partnership working and collaboration through co-location.

“These plans will not affect the enquiry office opening hours or the number of officers or PCSOS in the surrounding communities, who will continue to work as they currently do.”

Police and crime commissioner Mark Shelford said: “I am delighted that work has started on Bath One Stop Shop at Lewis House, which will provide a much-needed accessible base for teams to work from and engage with the community.

According to the plans, police officers will use the building daily from 7am to 3am, and ad hoc outside those hours to support the night-time economy, and it will open to the public on weekdays from 10am to 6pm.