Police on the move from Walsall's main station
Officers are set to move out of Walsall police station by the end of the year during the first phase of closing the main town centre base.
Some teams are poised to relocate from the current HQ to the council Civic Centre by December with the rest to the Bloxwich station by next summer.
West Midlands Police revealed in 2013 it was planning to close the Green Lane site in Walsall in a bid to save up to £500,000 a year maintenance.
It was said then that up to 200 officers would relocate to the Darwall Street civic centre or Bloxwich, with the base in Station Street becoming the main headquarters.
Plans are now pushing ahead with some neighbourhood and partnership teams due to move by the end of the year in a move which will enable them to work even closer with council departments. The aim is for the remainder of staff to move by next August paving the way for the town centre station to permanently close.
The force has already highlighted the importance of working in partnership with other organisations such as council staff, health service and likes of Walsall Housing Group in dealing with issues and reducing crime.
Chief Supt Jo Clews, from Walsall said: "The HQ will move to Bloxwich, optimistically in the summer if everything falls into place, however that may change.
"I am optimistic the move to the Civic Centre will happen before that. If we are really lucky that may be before Christmas. It is going to a really positive step.
"I think it is going to have huge amount of benefits, our partnerships team are one of the key teams that co-ordinate the neighbourhood sector activity.
"There is an amount of work that needs to be done at Bloxwich to open up some of the office space to take on additional staff." She added that having more staff in one place enables greater interaction.
There were previous plans for a new £13 million HQ in the town centre, initially earmarked for Hatherton Street, but these were scrapped a number of years ago.
In other steps cost-cutting measures front desks have closed at some stations around the Black Country including Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Dudley.
A council review of sites around the borough has earmarked the Green Lane site to be suitable for offices once the station is no longer used by police.
