NORTH Yorkshire Police’s neighbourhood policing team is to move into Ryedale House in Malton.

The move follows a decision by Julia Mulligan, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, and Ryedale District Council (RDC) last Thursday.

Plans will now go ahead for the 20-strong local policing team to move to Ryedale House, which is next door to the current police offices in Old Malton Road, in April.

Ryedale House, which is the headquarters for RDC, is already home to some services for North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) and the Department of Work and Pensions (Jobcentre Plus) will also start to operate from the premises on March 2.

Cllr Keane Duncan, leader of RDC, said:“This decision secures a publicly-accessible police office for Malton into the future and will allow even greater cooperation between the council and neighbourhood policing team. It will help make sure Ryedale is an even safer place and we can deal more effectively with issues such as speeding and anti-social behaviour.

“Having North Yorkshire Police at Ryedale House is yet another step towards achieving our ambition for a public services hub - a ‘one-stop shop’ for public services.”

Ms Mulligan said: “You only have to walk down Old Malton Road to see that there is an opportunity to work better together. Various public sector partners have separate buildings on the same street, which simply doesn’t make sense from a public service perspective, or from a financial one.

“I am absolutely committed to maintaining front counter services in local communities, and that is no different here where I want to ensure we retain a strong local policing presence at the heart of Malton. Having the neighbourhood team at Ryedale House means they are right where they need to be, and right where the community want them.”

Chief Constable Lisa Winward said: “We have an excellent neighbourhood policing team in Malton, which we’re continuing to grow and strengthen as we recruit additional police officers over the next few years.

“Being able to develop our officers in a partnership environment is really important, and bringing the neighbourhood team into Ryedale House will give us the opportunity to do that.

“Our focus remains on keeping people safe, and we can achieve that more effectively by working closely with other agencies. Being in the same building will help make those links even stronger.”