Police back plan for new station (From Gazette & Herald)

Police back plan for new station

A FUTURISTIC-looking new building could replace a Georgian house as the site of a North Yorkshire market town's police station.

A purpose-built Malton Police Station to cater for the needs of 21st century policing will be built on the upper tier of Wentworth Street car park - if Ryedale District Council planners give the proposals the green light.

Ryedale's district police commander, Inspector Neil Burnett, said: "Within any police station it is necessary to combine a range of different functions which support front-line policing. These include an intelligence unit, roads policing, community safety, crime analysis and so on.

"Most of these functions are interdependent and, to perform at their best, it is important that they are located properly within the building so that different team members can communicate effectively and work as a team to fight crime. The design of the proposed new building by Severfield-Reeve Projects takes this into account and ensures that the configuration of different offices meets this need.

"The existing police station was built as a house and poses constant challenges when it comes to developing new working procedures because we are constrained by the size and layout of its rooms."

The eastern area commander for North Yorkshire Police, Chief Supt David Short, said: "This is a golden opportunity for Malton to obtain a brand new police station, which will benefit the police and local community, at no cost to taxpayers.

"If it does not proceed we will, at some time, have to refurbish the existing police station, which will, of course, have to come from the police budget which is contributed to by local tax payers."

Severfield-Reeve Projects design director, Garry Barker, said the building had been designed to complement its rural setting and to look like a community building rather than an institution.

Police and local residents have said if the new station gets the go-ahead it will help combat persistent noise and nuisance in the Wentworth Street area.

When it is built the new station, which will combine traditional and modern, sustainable materials, will house district police staff, road policing, CID, intelligence unit, community safety, operational support and the area management team. Severfield-Reeve Projects will provide the new station in exchange for being able to redevelop the existing police headquarters in Old Malton Road.

Updated: 09:54 Thursday, May 27, 2004