Police u-turn over sale of new site for HQ in Chandler's Ford (From This is Hampshire)
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Police u-turn over sale of new site for HQ in Chandler's Ford
5:04pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Julian Robinson
The current HQ in Winchester
A NEW £9m police 'campus' could be in full use by 2015 after a u-turn on plans to sell part of it.
Alpha Park in Chandler's Ford was bought four years ago as a replacement for Hampshire Constabulary's headquarters in Winchester, a 1960’s tower no longer considered fit for purpose.
But last year, parts of the new site were earmarked for a £3m sell off as finance bosses looked at ways to save more than £50m.
Now members of Hampshire Police Authority - which controls the force's finances - want to return to the original idea and use the whole of the site, but as an 'operational police campus.'
Once completed, the facility, on Electron Way, will house a range of departments including the vehicle workshop, Force Enquiry Centre and Information Technology team.
Bosses say the u-turn was made in a bid to “co-locate centralised units to realise efficiencies and synergy.”
The decision was taken as part of moves to 'rationalise' the Constabulary's land and building stock - a process started in 2008.
The Estates Development Programme includes plans to build four new custody centres as well as a new headquarters at Winchester's Mottisfont Court, on the High Street, which could be ready for 170 staff by the end of 2013.
