Bringing together police and partners at a new hub at Smithfield in Hanley will provide a better, more joined-up service to local communities.
Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis has decided with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to create the hub at One Smithfield.
It means the ageing, under-used Hanley Police Station – which is no longer fit for purpose – will be emptied and demolished, and income generated from the development or sale of the police station site.
The move to the new hub will see a police public enquiry desk sit alongside the council’s public service desks allowing people to get all the help they need in one place.
It is part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s drive to make policing more visible and accessible to communities, getting officers out of stations and onto the streets and supporting them with technology to do their job.
The Commissioner said: “This is in line with the strategy I laid out three years ago to get better value for money and provide a better service by co-locating organisations.
“We’ve worked with the council to make this happen as the principle of bringing public services together is absolutely the right thing to do.
“Having a police public enquiry desk and police officers based in a partnership hub is very sound for operational reasons and will provide a more joined-up service to local people.
“The roll-out of mobile technology – which will help free up an extra 250,000 hours of police time to be out on the beat each year – means we can take advantage of downsizing ageing buildings and get more officers onto the streets.”
As well as the public enquiry desk, police teams including neighbourhood policing, detectives and forensics will move to new purpose-built facilities in One Smithfield as part of the lease arrangement. The lease will be signed in spring and moves are expected to take place by the end of the summer.
Councillor Dave Conway, Leader at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This announcement is great to hear. As we know with the history of Smithfield it hasn’t always been straightforward so it makes it even more rewarding that we have now got to this place. Getting One Smithfield occupied is really positive news for residents, businesses in the city, taxpayers and the council. I’m looking forward to it really making its mark and delivering positively for Stoke-on-Trent.”
Councillor Abi Brown, Deputy Leader at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We’re very pleased to be in a position where we can confirm that Staffordshire Police will be joining us at Smithfield. This is all about public services working together to provide more efficient and effective services to the public under one roof. I think it also shows the confidence there is in the council’s plan for Smithfield as a development and underlines our commitment to working more closely with our partners for the good of the city and its residents.
“This move will significantly increase the occupation of One Smithfield. At the same time, the formal marketing of Two Smithfield to the private sector is now under way and the interest received to date has been very encouraging. This is high-quality office accommodation which will bring new businesses and jobs to the city centre.
“With everything going on in Stoke-on-Trent at the minute from being a European City of Sport to securing Enterprise Zone Status from the Government, plus its fantastic geographical location, the city is an increasingly attractive place right now for people looking to do business and invest.”
Chief Supt Martin Evans, responsible for local policing for North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, said: “We welcome the decision to relocate our resources from Hanley Police Station into the new, purpose-built One Smithfield centre. The current police station is significantly under-used now and as we move forward is no longer fit for purpose. The intention has been for some time to move our neighbourhood policing and the enquiry desk to One Smithfield, but it has now been decided to move all police functions currently based at Hanley police station into the new facility.
“One of the major benefits of moving to the new building will be the increased joint working that will take place with other partners that will also be working from the same building. So much of what we deal with now requires partnership working and co-location should significantly enhance this.
“Staffordshire Police have been working with the City Council and other partners to develop ‘Cooperative Working’ which is centred around delivering tailored, effective and efficient partnership working to help people to live well. I am delighted that the central Cooperative Working team will also be working from One Smithfield.
“Everything that is currently done by officers and staff at the police station will be delivered from the new centre. Response times will not be affected as our officers will be responding from the same location. The design of the facilities for our response officers within the hub are such that they will be able to exit the building quickly giving them swift access to their police vehicles when required for an emergency. In addition, our officers and staff now have new mobile data devices which enables them to remain out on patrol far more than before rather than them having to return to the station to use a computer.”
