Three West Yorkshire police stations set to hit the market

A trio of police stations in West Yorkshire are set to be put up for sale.

West Yorkshire Police is updating its estate and buildings as part of a long term Estates Strategy 2015-2020.

The three stations are among seven premises that have been approved for sale across West Yorkshire, which said that there would be replacement sites in most cases.

The sale of these properties are set to assist West Yorkshire Police with the ongoing reform of service delivery, help save money and divert more resources back into frontline policing.

The seven buildings include police stations in Keighley, Bingley and Killingbeck, along with section boxes in Fartown, Milnsbridge, Moldgreen and Wyke.

John Robins, West Yorkshire Police deputy chief constable, said: “Much of our plans are about having smaller, newer and more cost effective police stations in a similar location, albeit some will not be replaced where very few officers and staff work from them.

“The number of officers and staff working in these areas is not changing. Indeed, we are committed to increasing the numbers of Neighbourhood Police officers and PCSOs over the next year. Saving money on estates helps us do that.

“It all forms part of a wider ongoing strategy to reduce the number of properties across the organisation, which have either been left empty, are largely underused or are very expensive to run.

“Since 2010, due to Government austerity measures, the size of our workforce has decreased and we need to reduce our costs. We are now operating with around 1,400 fewer people. Alongside all this, newly built state of the art buildings across the Force have given us greater capacity and are specifically designed with 21st century policing in mind.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire Police and crime commissioner, added: “The way in which we operate and respond to the public is improving all the time with advances in technology that West Yorkshire Police are at the forefront of.

“This is not just about the money, although we have had to face challenges as our budget has been reduced by around £140m since 2010, this is about providing newer and better placed police buildings for our officers and staff to work from.

“I have invested £20m to transform the way we police including the introduction of agile equipment and mobile devices. This ensures officers can spend more time away from the station and on the streets which is where people across West Yorkshire say they want to see them.

“This estates plan builds on a more efficient and effective approach to policing the communities of West Yorkshire ensuring people across the county are safe and feel safe.”

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