TOWN’S ‘TIRED’ 1970S POLICE STATION SET TO BE DEMOLISHED
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A PLAN to demolish a “tired” 1970s-era police station building will come before council planners.
An application has been received by Anglesey county council for permission to knock down the old station on Stanley Street, Holyhead.
It has been submitted by the office of the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin, through agent Ian Poole.
The application calls for the demolition of the building which is on a 0.15-hectare site in the centre of Holyhead.
Although the site address is Newry Street, access to the station and rear car park is off Summer Hill to the south of the site.
Planning permission for a new, modern station building was granted with conditions by planners back in November, 2023, although work is yet to start.
The previous application concerned the erection of a new station comprising of a two- and three-storey building with associated car parking and landscaped areas.
A new access road also formed part of that earlier application.
The 50-year-old building was “no longer suitable to accommodate the needs of a 21st-century force”, the plans stated. And “in line with North Wales Police’s commitment to the town, it required major investment”.
The old building was described as being “not significant” in architectural terms, nor was it listed: “The existing four-storey building has come to the end of its design life and, despite being maintained well, it bears a tired presence over the town centre.”
The old building had contained accommodation including custody cells, which were no longer required operationally and were considered “unsuitable for viable conversion”.
The plans also noted: “It is proposed that the building, including cell areas, will be demolished in a single phase of works.”
The management plan said work would take place between Monday to Friday: “Saturday not permitted without prior notice and Sunday and Public Holidays Not permitted without prior notice.” Although, it noted “deliveries of heavy machinery may be required outside of the proposed hours”.
The plans also stated, it was “anticipated that all asbestos contained materials would be removed and disposed of by a specialist UKAS approved laboratory contractor, prior to any works being carried out by the contractor.”