THE FORMER police station and court building in Southam is being offered for sale priced around £500,000.
The High Street building has been put on the market by the Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe to raise funds to pump into the county policing budget.
The 1960’s building has been underused for a number of years since the closure of the court and the later re-location of the police Safer Neighbourhood Team to the town’s library, where front counter services are provided alongside county council services through the Warwickshire Direct facility.
The building has been empty since May when the remaining staff from forensic services relocated to new facilities in Warwickshire.
And with the building no longer suitable for policing needs and costly to maintain and secure, the decision has been made to sell, with the building and surrounding land deemed “suitable for redevelopment”.
Mr Seccombe said: “I want to ensure that our officers and staff are housed in buildings which are fit-for-purpose and meet modern policing requirements and the needs of the public.
“Sadly, buildings first created in a very different era in the 1960s often can’t meet these needs and this is the case at Southam. The building is too large for current needs and difficult to adapt, while the court facilities have not been used for a considerable amount of time.
“It has also not functioned as public-facing police station for a number of years, with the Safer Neighbourhood Team relocating next door to the library and One-Stop-Shop, which has ensured that the same level of policing is maintained for the town, with much improved facilities for the public when they access police services.
“The time is now right to put up the ‘for sale’ signs.
“While I understand there will be some sadness within the town at this development, I am firmly of the view that it is people who protect the public, not buildings. The funds this sale will raise, together with savings in maintenance and security, can be better used to improve frontline policing and, together with my commitment to boost police officer numbers, that is something I am determined to deliver.”
