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New Cambridge police station and hub could replace Parkside




Cambridge could yet retain a city centre police station when the current site at Parkside is closed.

Chief Constable, Nick Dean at Milton Primary School for the meeting regarding the proposed new Police Station. Picture: Keith Heppell. (27512885)
Chief Constable, Nick Dean at Milton Primary School for the meeting regarding the proposed new Police Station. Picture: Keith Heppell. (27512885)

Following a campaign by residents and councillors, Cambridgeshire Constabulary has confirmed that it will launch a public consultation over plans for a new city centre police station in addition to a hub based outside of Cambridge.

The move follows a public survey by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in June about moving the city’s police station to a potential site in Milton.

A petition launched by Cambridge Labour calling for a presence to be maintained in the city centre gathered almost 800 signatures.

Chief constable Nick Dean said: “The nature of crime has changed a lot since the Parkside station opened. We no longer have the capacity in our cells to quickly process criminals and we cannot fully meet the demands of the growing population of Cambridgeshire with the facilities that are currently available.

“We have the opportunity here to improve our service through facilities that meet the demands of modern policing. This consultation is about making sure the people of Cambridgeshire are given the opportunity to have their say on the future of their police service.

“I hope as many people as possible give us their feedback and help shape the future of policing in Cambridgeshire.”

The constabulary conducted a review of the services at Parkside and believes that the current facilities do not allow them to fully respond to today’s needs. The station was constructed in the 1960s and is said to be beyond its functional age as a police facility, requiring significant investment to keep the building operational in the mid to long term. Essential maintenance was completed at Parkside in 2014, but this was only intended to extend the useable lifespan of the buildings for up to five years.

The police force has said there is no room to expand the station and there are too few cells, which means that officers are having to spend more time processing detainees as, when the cells are full at Parkside, they must transport suspects 40 miles to Peterborough or King’s Lynn.

This takes officers away from responding to other incidents in Cambridge and the surrounding area.

Following the survey in June, there was general positivity about the principle of relocating holding facilities and back office functions away from Parkside to a location on the edge of the city, but a number of respondents called for a city centre presence to be maintained.

As a result, the force is now undertaking a formal consultation on the principle of the proposals to replace the facilities at Parkside with both a new city centre police station and a police hub on the outskirts of Cambridge.

The new city centre station will be a base for the community policing team and will have a public-facing enquiry office for people to access information, speak to officers and report crime.

The new hub would be a base for the community police serving the south of Cambridgeshire.

The consultation will start at 9am on Saturday, February 1, and run until 5pm on Saturday, February 29. A drop-in event will be held at The Grafton from 10am-2pm on February 1 and at Lion Yard on February 22, 10am-2pm.

To take part, visit cambspoliceconsultation.co.uk.

Read more:

Cambridge City Council centre could host post-Parkside police station

Police and crime commissioner justifies closure of Parkside station and switch to Milton

Demand for clarity over future Cambridge city centre police station

Furious Labour councillors launch petition demanding police station is retained in Cambridge city centre



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