WORK is about to start on a new West Somerset police station after Avon and Somerset Constabulary completed the purchase of a former day centre for children and young adults with disabilities.
The former Somerset Council Seahorse Centre, in Stephenson Road, Minehead, will be refurbished to provide a replacement police station for the town.
The premises will house an inquiry office and the town’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, and it will also provide ‘touchdown’ desks for response officers.
Refurbishment work is expected to start in May with a view to complete the project ready for police to move in by late autumn.
Temporary Chief Inspector Rebecca Wells-Cole said: “This is great news that we are excited to share with the community of Minehead.
“Our existing station in Minehead on Townsend Road is oversized, in need of refurbishment, and is no longer suitable to meet the needs of modern policing.
“This new station will be much more efficient to run and allow us to continue to provide a policing service in Minehead for many years to come.
“The new station will house an inquiry office to enable people to come and speak to us directly.
“It will also be the new home of our Neighbourhood Policing Team, who will continue to provide a visible policing presence in Minehead, working proactively to solve problems and support our community.”
Some of the Seahorse Centre will be leased back to the council and repurposed to deliver training to health and social care staff as part of the Government’s Levelling Up programme to develop a Somerset Academy for Health and Social Care.
Council executive Cllr Ros Wyke said: “With the police now owning the building, and the forthcoming Somerset academy annexe being planned, this move shows continued public sector commitment to Minehead and its surrounds.”
The Townsend Road station is to be put up for sale for a likely residential scheme, subject to planning permission, and the constabulary is asking for any comments on the development plans, which are still at an early stage, by April 18, via a form which can be found online at https://forms.office.com/e/582BeTW6n3.