Councillors criticise £3.5m plans for new Dudley police headquarters

The scheme would see a new HQ in Castlegate along with the closure of the police stations including Brierley Hill – a change councillors claim makes no financial sense.

Councillor Adam Davies says it would be cheaper to refurbish the Brierley Hill station than move to a replacement building which he believes is not even in a suitable location.

He said: “We have consistently argued that our borough’s police headquarters should stay in the centre of the borough where it makes sense – and that’s where it is now, in Brierley Hill.

“The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said this couldn’t happen because £2.5m would need to be spent to bring the Brierley Hill station up to date, but that argument doesn’t make sense when he’s now spent £3.35m, almost £1m more than he said they’d have to spend at Brierley Hill, to buy a new office block right on the northern edge of the borough to replace it.”

But West Mdlands PCC Simon Foster says the new HQ will be better suited for modern policing and cash from the sale of the Brierley Hill site will be reinvested into fighting crime in Dudley borough.

Mr Foster said: “The current HQ in Brierley Hill is neither fit for purpose or policing in the 21st century.

“That assessment is based on the independent and impartial, operational policing judgement of the chief constable and West Midlands Police Estates Team.

“I am also delivering on my pledge, that Brierley Hill Neighbourhood Policing Team will be re-located locally to a suitable alternative police base, before the building is disposed of.”

He said 60 neighbourhood police officers will, in September, move from Brierley Hill into a new base in Copthall House in Stourbridge town centre to cover the Stourbridge and Lye area.

Councillor Davies is seeking more information on the price of the changes and has made a request under the Freedom of Information Act to West Midlands Police for the exact costs of the move from Brierley Hill to Dudley.

His fellow Brierley Hill councillor Wayne Little added: “The new site is closer to towns in Sandwell which it won’t be serving, such as Tipton, Great Bridge and Bilston, than it is to places it will be serving here in Brierley Hill, Wordsley, Amblecote, Stourbridge, Kingswinford and elsewhere in our borough.”

There is also concern in Halesowen, where the local police station is also facing the axe.

Councillor Simon Phipps, who represents Belle Vale, said: “People across Halesowen are very worried about the prospect of our police station closing and our local officers having to move all the way to the new Dudley station at Castlegate.

“This would mean they have far further to travel at the start and end of their shifts and inevitably lead to a much lesser policing presence in our town.”

Mr Foster said: “The overall plan across the Dudley LPA places significant importance on community policing and police officers, being based within the communities they serve, to prevent, tackle and reduce crime, to keep people, families, businesses and the local community safe and secure.”