Police and fire crews will share a base as part of cost-saving plans
RIPON’S POLICE and fire services will share a base from next month, in a move which North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said will save money on buildings that can be “reinvested into the front line”.
Julia Mulligan announced yesterday that the neighbourhood policing team and ten response officers based at Ripon police station will relocate from their current building in North Street to Ripon fire station on Stonebridgegate.
The move is scheduled to happen on February 5, and the existing police station will close its doors after February 2, the last day of operations in the building.
Mrs Mulligan said: “I am pleased to announce that police officers and PCSOs in Ripon will soon be sharing a building with colleagues from the local fire service.
“This is a move that I hope to see repeated across the county in a bid to improve collaboration opportunities, allow for greater shared learning and to save money on buildings which can then be reinvested into the front line.
“This long-awaited move will see the police relocate out of a costly and outdated building into Ripon fire station, alongside their emergency service colleagues.
“The decision to dispose of the land and buildings at North Street has been in place for some time as part of our long-term estates strategy and I am pleased that this is now going ahead.”
A number of options for North Yorkshire Police’s long-term base in Ripon are still being explored.
Mrs Mulligan, who is serving her second term as crime commissioner in North Yorkshire, is waiting to hear back from the Home Office over whether she can take on the oversight of the county’s fire service.
She claims £6.6m could be saved over ten years if her office replaced the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, the body responsible for holding the fire service to account. Such a step would improve collaboration, she said, as well as save money, and has been met with “resounding” public support, despite being opposed by numerous authorities.