End of an era as Staffordshire Police headquarters is demolished
This dramatic image is one of the last of the former Staffordshire Police headquarters, which will be completely flattened over the next two weeks.
Demolition work at the Weeping Cross base in Stafford has moved into a new phase as offices at the front of the site have started to come down.
The prime site in Cannock Road has been on the market since August 2011.
Last year, two sales fell through at the last minute, and a decision over its future was put in the hands of Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis.
He has predicted 'light at the end of the tunnel' over the sale of the site, with hopes that the main obstacle to a potential deal – a phone mast in the middle of the site – will soon be resolved. Mr Ellis has now persuaded all the mobile phone providers to meet with the county and borough councils next month to find a solution.
The remaining buildings will be razed over the next fortnight before work begins to clear material from the site. Offices, including the 160-year-old Baswich House, have already been bulldozed to help the force save more than £126,000 in its rates costs.
Contractors, who moved in almost a year ago, have now started work on the main building. Staffordshire Police spokesman Peter Bate said: "Contractors have committed to ensuring inconvenience and disruption to neighbouring residents is kept to an absolute minimum."
The force has been based at a new £16 million headquarters in Weston Road since February 2010. It had been at the site at the junction of Cannock Road and Weeping Cross since the 1950s.
The demolition comes after it emerged this week that police in Cannock will set up a front desk at the town's council house under new plans to share office space. Discussions had been ongoing for several months.
