SOLD: EX-POLICE STATION WITH ITS OWN PRISON CELL

Residents call for building to be renovated

ESTATE agents were hoping to avoid any criminal offers when a former police station with its very own prison cell went under the hammer.

The old police station in Stone Road, Norton Bridge, near Yarnfield, has been sold after being put up for auction with a guide price of £250,000.

The building had previously been used as a residential property, but the site was bought in 2014 by Network Rail, via a compulsory purchase order, to allow work on a major bottleneck junction between Stafford and Crewe.

Unfortunately for any wannabe police officers, the former cell has most recently been utilised as a pantry.

A description from Bruton Knowles, which handled the sale, said: “A substantial family home set in a large garden area with adjoining paddock. The total plot size is 1.77 acres or thereabouts.

“Built of brick under a tile roof, the property was the former Norton Bridge Police Station and the prisoner cell still forms part of the accommodation.

“The property is accessed off Station Road via a road which has been stopped up as part of the rail improvement scheme.”

The site also includes a paddock and a number of outbuildings.

Inside, the property boasts three double bedrooms, a living room and dining room.

Families living nearby welcomed the sale and hope the building will either be renovated or replaced with something more attractive.

Phil White, of Station Road, said: “I can only assume whoever buys the police station will use it for development.

“Given the guide price was £250,000 I can’t see anything else happening to it, it will be land going to development.

“It probably wouldn’t bother me too much to see the building itself go.

“If it were available for a realistic price, then I would have been tempted – but not for a quarter of a million.”

Neighbour Dan Taylor added: “As I understand, the property has been empty since the railway went through, so anything that puts it back into use will be a good thing.

“I would hope young families will buy the property for homes.

“It was a shame it was targeted by vandals six months ago and that the pub is in the same state. Anything that brings investment into the area is a benefit.”

The building went under the hammer on October 30, but it has not been revealed how much it fetched.