Police set to move into Wolverhampton council HQ under new plans

Wolverhampton Central police station on Bilston Street is in line to close for a major revamp of facilities signed off in the Police and Crime Commissioner's latest estates plan.

And the Express & Star can reveal that talks are underway with council chiefs over a potential move into the authority's headquarters on St Peter's Square.

The multi-million pound refurb of the station will require a full decant and is expected to start next year.

It will see officers – including the senior leadership team and the central team – requiring a new temporary home for the duration of the work, while the Bilston Street cells will be non-operational.

The Civic Centre – which operated as a vaccination centre during the pandemic – used to house thousands of council staff, but numbers have been slashed due to the authority adopting a 'flexible working' model.

Councillor Ian Brookfield, leader of Wolverhampton Council, said the authority was "open" to the move.

"We are more than happy to help our partners in the city.," he said. "Negotiations have started and will continue in the weeks ahead."

In his latest estates plan, published earlier this year, PCC Simon Foster confirmed plans for a full refurb of Wolverhampton Central.

A closure date has not yet been confirmed, with Mr Foster saying only that the work would not be completed before winter 2024.

A spokesman for the PCC, said: "We are committed to refurbishing Wolverhampton Central police station to maintain a base for local neighbourhood police teams, officers responding to 999 calls and a police station that the public can access to report crimes."

Councillor Brookfield said there were currently around 1,300-1,400 people a day using the Civic Centre, which underwent a £25 million refurb in 2016 to remedy serious structural problems.

"We expect that number to grow, but for many staff we will continue to adopt a flexible approach," he said.

"We are saying to staff, if you can do the majority of your work at home – and it suits both parties – then we'll allow it.

"There's good reasons for that. Productivity has gone up, we have a 10 per cent less sickness rate – and it's also better for the environment. When you take that into account it makes better sense for the residents.

"We also have officers out in the localities, such as our base in Pendeford where social workers are based. It is a better use of the infrastructure that we have at our disposal.

"As long as the benefits remain, then like many big institutions I am happy to move forward with a blended approach."

Wolverhampton Council owns 12 offices in the city centre that bosses say are part of an ongoing "programme of relocation".

West Midlands Police currently use an area of Walsall Civic Centre as a base for neighbourhood police.