Towns ‘will not’ lose their police stations

FEARS that Sutton Coldfield and Solihull could lose their police stations have been quashed by bosses.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson have a “cast iron” guarantee both towns would retain stations with front desks, no matter what happens to the bases they currently operate from.

Rumours started circulating over the future of police services with the existing stations standing mostly empty with officers only taking up a small part of the buildings.

But Mr Jamieson said the future of the two buildings were being considered and that nothing would happen unless replacement facilities were found first.

He said: “Sutton Coldfield is a truly huge building and 90 per cent of it is empty. Partly because of the cuts we’ve had – we’ve lost 2,100 officers over the last 10 years and partly because of new ways of policing do not demand a building of that size.

“In Solihull, it’s about 80 per cent empty and we have the same issue there as well.

“The decision on whether to use or not a premises is a matter for the chief constable and not a matter for me. When that building becomes surplus then it becomes my responsibility to decide how to dispose of the property.

“In both cases, these stations are not closing without replacement and the buildings will not change until an alternative is provided for both police officers to parade from and also for there to be a front desk.

“There is an absolute cast iron guarantee there will be a police station in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull. There will be a front desk in both.”