West Midlands Police gets approval to start closures from January

Tettenhall, Dudley, Halesowen, Kingswinford and Stourbridge stations will all be axed, while eight other depots and storage facilities will close and be sold off, the force has confirmed.

A total of 13 Black Country sites are among 28 police buildings in the West Midlands that will shut over the next two years, reducing the number of sites by 10 per cent and bringing in £8.6m through property sales and savings on running costs.

A further £3.1m will be saved on maintenance work.

Following a consultation the move passed through the final discussion stage at a meeting of the region's Strategic Policing and Crime Board yesterday.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has backed the move, and says that 'officers, not buildings' keep people safe. He is set to formally announce the closures later this week.

Wolverhampton:

Oxley

Heath Town

Merridale Court (Graiseley)

Pennwood Court

Tettenhall

Staveley House

Dudley:

Kingswinford

Halesowen

Netherton

Dudley (Inc. 3 x car parks)

Stourbridge

Sandwell:

Tanhouse Centre

Birmingham Headquarters:

Canterbury Road

Windmill House

Birmingham East:

Billesley

Kings Heath

Sheldon

Sparkhill

Birmingham North:

Castle Vale

Birmingham South:

Kings Norton (including

Masshouse Lane Annexe)

Warstock

Longbridge

Bartley Green

Birmingham West and Central:

Perry Barr

Handsworth West

(Holyhead Road)

Jewellery Quarter

Solihull:

Balsall Common

Shirley

But the move has sparked fury among politicians and rank and file police officers, with one MP calling a consultation of the closures 'a complete sham'.

Sites in Heath Town, Graiseley, Netherton and The Tanhouse Centre in Great Barr will close in January, while Tettenhall will be the first station in the region to shut in February.

Mr Jamieson said: "These changes will have no impact on response times as response officers are not based at these locations.

"Between 2010 and 2015 West Midlands Police was cut harder than any other force in the country which means we still have difficult decisions to make.

"My priority is always will be people not buildings. Many people from across the political divide have realised this.

"The overriding view of police professionals is that officers, not buildings keep people safe."

Margot James, Tory MP for Stourbridge, has supported the move, previously saying that the closures would have 'minimal impact'.

Other discarded sites – none of which are open to the public – are Oxley, Pennwood Court and Staveley House, all in Wolverhampton. They will close in March 2016.

Dudley station will go next August, with stations in Halesowen and Tettenhall due to close in January and February 2017 respectively. Windmill House in Smethwick will also close in February 2017.

Stourbridge station will shut its doors in May 2017, followed by the Kingswinford police base in July 2017.

James Morris, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, launched a petition against the closure of Halesowen station that garnered around 700 signatures.

The petition was presented at yesterday's meeting. He said: "The PCC's consultation on station closures has been a complete sham.

"There has been no meaningful exercise in consulting with local residents on the future of police stations – the PCC has just blindly gone ahead with his own politically motivated decisions, blaming everyone other than himself for the decisions he has made.

"The proposal to close Halesowen station should be postponed until a proper consultation in Halesowen has taken place, so local people can demonstrate the strong level of feeling."

Teams currently based at all 28 of the buildings will be moved to other sites in advance of the closure dates.

West Midlands Police Federation deputy chairman Tom Cuddeford has said that the closure of the buildings will 'take officers further away from the communities they serve'.