Parkside station move ‘will not impact police presence in Cambridge city centre’
Cambridgeshire’s police and crime commissioner has assured residents that moving the force’s headquarters out of Cambridge will not impact its presence in the city.
Construction got under way at the new station site in Milton in January, with the building’s foundations now being laid.
The current station at Parkside, in the city centre, was constructed in the 1960s and Cambridgeshire Constabulary said it is “not fit for modern policing”.
The new building will cost around £45m, double cell provisions and provide a base for around 400 officers.
It will also help the force meet the needs of the ever-growing population, enable the force to respond to calls for service more efficiently and better respond to the challenges of modern-day policing.
The number of cells will be increased from 12 to 24 and the site has been said to offer better road access and be subject to less traffic, which will enable officers to respond to calls more efficiently.
Chief Constable Nick Dean joined police and crime commissioner Darryl Preston at the site on Thursday (28 February).
Mr Dean said: “It’s been talked about for a huge number of years but we’re now on site, we’ve started the construction and hopefully by the end of 2025 we will have a brand-new facility here in Cambridgeshire.”
Speaking after the event Mr Preston told the Cambridge Independent: “Parkside was constructed in the 1960s and although it’s had some refurbishment, frankly it’s come to the end of its life. The amount of money it would take to bring it up to modern standards doesn’t make a good business case.
“We’re hoping that the new station will be completed by the end of 2025. It will double our cell capacity, so that means police officers won’t have to drive all over the county or elsewhere if they detain people.”
Cambridgeshire Constabulary had said previously that no decision had yet been made over the future of Parkside, and that it was also looking at locations for a new base in the city centre.
Mr Preston said on Tuesday that the public want the police to “respond quickly to local concerns” and be “visible in our local communities”.
“So let me be clear, although we’re building this new police station, with extra capacity for cells, better facilities for our detectives, and forensic investigators, we will be maintaining a police presence in Cambridge city – there’ll be a police station in Cambridge city,” he said.
Mr Preston added: “This is about visibility, so our local policing teams will still be based in the centre of Cambridge.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council granted planning permission for the building, which sits beside the Milton park and ride, in March 2021.
Archaeologists found evidence the land at Milton was occupied in the Roman, Iron and Bronze Ages.
The building is expected to be completed in late 2025.
The force announced it intended to close Parkside, which acts as its main hub and custody suite in the south of the county, and move to Milton in 2019.