Taunton Police Station move latest (From Somerset County Gazette)

Taunton Police Station move latest

8:00pm Wednesday 16th June 2010 in Taunton By Phil Hill

PROPOSALS that will see 341 police jobs relocate from Taunton Police Station to Bridgwater received the go-ahead on Tuesday.

The Home Office confirmed funding for a private finance initiative (PFI) project for an operations base at Express Business Park, viewed as central for countywide operations.

The initiative will lead to the sale of the current Shuttern police station and a new station built near Taunton town centre.

The Express Business Park building will house operations such as a custody and crime investigation centre, a base for road policing, firearms and dog officers and an operations and administration base.

The PFI money will be repaid over 27 years, when the operations base will become the property of Avon and Somerset Police.

A police spokeswoman said: “New police stations will replace those currently in Taunton and Bridgwater which will be easily accessible to the public.

“Discussions are at an early stage and no sites have been confirmed at this stage.

“The new sites won’t be needed until 2014, when the facilities at Express Park open.

“There will be public consultation on these moves.”

Frontline officers and senior managers, neighbourhood beat teams and front office workers will be among 130 staff remaining in Taunton.

But Taunton will lose its 11 custody cells, road policing unit and control room, along with backroom jobs in areas like administration and finance.

The Express Park facility will have 36 cells and anyone arrested in Taunton will be booked in by a Bridgwater-based team, freeing up officers from some paperwork duties.