Force ‘aiming to buy college campus’ for HQ
WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE ENDS BID TO MOVE TO OLD LEISURE CENTRE SITE
DEWSBURY looks set to be the site of a new divisional headquarters for West Yorkshire Police in Kirklees.
The Examiner understands that the force is in the process of buying the Halifax Road campus currently occupied by Kirklees College.
The move brings to an end a concerted attempt by the force to purchase the site of the former Huddersfield Sports Centre on Southgate.
Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, Angela Williams, said: “Current police buildings in Dewsbury and Huddersfield are ageing and we remain committed to replacing them with police stations in both towns which will house response and neighbourhood policing teams.
“One of these sites will also serve as a District headquarters.
“Work on this project remains ongoing but we are unable to comment further at this stage due to commercial and legal sensitivities.”
Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s
Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “The police estate buildings in Kirklees have been earmarked for renewal and modernisation within the capital programme for some time, to ensure that both Huddersfield and Dewsbury both have fit for purpose stations and facilities to best serve our communities.
“Finalisation of suitable plans and available sites are still subject to legal and commercial considerations in both towns so we aren’t able to comment any further at this time.”
As of September 2019, West Yorkshire Police had made three unsuccessful bids to buy the site, which is said to be valued at between £3m and £4m.
Around the same time the University of Huddersfield, which was also understood to have eyed the land as a potential expansion of its campus, also withdrew.
Both Kirklees College and Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood declined to comment on future plans for the campus site. But local councillor Gulfam Asif (Lab, Dewsbury South), said the move was good news for the town.
He said: “This has been brewing for quite a number of years. There have been a lot of hush-hush talks about where a divisional headquarters could be based.
“The police wanted the whole site behind the Sainsbury’s supermarket petrol station in Huddersfield that ran along Southgate to where the flats used to stand. The council said no.
“In terms of Dewsbury, it’s fantastic news. The town will host the main divisional head office for the whole of Kirklees on one central site. It’s a huge site and it’s a perfect choice. They will sell the current Dewsbury site next to the
There have been a lot of hush-hush talks about where a divisional HQ
could be based
bus station. That could be redeveloped into the bigger blueprint plan.”
Kirklees College is offloading its Halifax Road campus as it is surplus to requirements following the construction of the Springfield Centre on Bradford Road and the multi-million pound refurbishment of Grade II-listed Pioneer House on Northgate. Together they will make up the Dewsbury Learning Quarter, which aims to replace existing campuses the Dewsbury Centre and Batley School of Art, both located on Halifax Road. The present police divisional headquarters for Kirklees is situated on Castlegate in Huddersfield.