Former Black Country police stations sold for £1 million

Police bases in Tettenhall and Darlaston were auctioned for £430,000 and £660,000 by Bond Wolfe Auctions.

It comes after cash-strapped West Midlands Police made the move to sell them off – including one in Handsworth, which sold for £770,000 – in a bid to save money.

Cash from the sales will be ploughed straight back into policing, police chiefs said after councillors criticised the idea.

The Victorian building in Darlaston, on Crescent Road, went up for auction on September 10 with a guide price of £250,000.

The three-storey property has offices and meeting rooms on the ground floor, including the original custody suite.

There are more offices on the first and second floors, storage space in the basement, and a gated rear yard with around 25 secure car parking spaces.

And the former Tettenhall Police Station at 30 High Street, in Tettenhall, had a guide price of £250,000.

This is a two-storey, detached 1970s building containing offices and meeting rooms, with a separate store and garage at the rear, along with gated yard for parking.

The properties are all freehold and are considered suitable for a variety of uses, subject to planning permission.

Meanwhile, Handsworth West Police Station at 61-65 Holyhead Road in Handsworth has a guide price of £500,000.

This lot is made up of a detached, two-storey 1930s building together with a pair of former semi-detached houses which were recently used as extra offices and are connected on the first floor.

Managing director Ian Tudor, of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: “There was a huge amount of interest in all three properties and while we expected it to go well above the guidelines, it went over and above our expectations.

“We had in excess of 90 attend each property in terms of viewings, so it was tremendous.

“But at this stage we don’t know what the future holds for the sites.”

It is currently not known what the sites will be used for.