Work to commence on new Police control centre

Work will commence later this year on a new £20m building to house Humberside Police’s control centre and other specialist services, following the completion of contracts and planning approval.

The 107,000 sq ft, three-storey operational support building, which will be constructed next to the force’s existing facility at Melton West Business Park, providing excellent road access to the wider region, will accommodate over 500 staff and contain a new state of the art control room handling all telephone calls and public contact, replacing the current control room at Hessle which is no longer suitable for purpose. The building will also house other specialist units such as major crime investigation. This will free up space in other buildings to accommodate the uplift in police officers which has increased by around 500 since 2016.

Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter, who has responsibility for the force estate said:

“I am delighted that planning permission has been granted for the new police building at Melton. At this moment of national crisis our thoughts and efforts are naturally on dealing with the tragedy affecting many families and coping with the stresses on our NHS and other public services. It is nevertheless hugely important to consider how we emerge from this and position our public services for the future, in what will inevitably be a challenging time as businesses try to re-build and people who have lost jobs try to regain their former employment or seek new work. Being able to confirm this new building will now go ahead is therefore a great announcement for our area. It will create jobs and boost supply lines throughout the Humber region. This go-ahead is a statement that we will emerge and Humberside Police will continue to drive forward its ambition to be an outstanding police force. We must invest for the future.

“I really want to stress that this building is not about centralising policing. Over the past four years of my tenure more and more local officers have been based back in the communities they police. That is the natural direction for Humberside Police. No police station with locally based operational officers has been closed without a replacement opening and that will continue. This building will, however, allow a new force control room to be built to put us at the forefront of call handling in the country. It will also allow officers based in specialist units to work together allowing efficiencies that can be reinvested in improving the service. It will not reduce service to any area, it will improve it for the whole force.”

The development has been a joint project with Melton West landowners and developers Wykeland Group, planning consultants DLP, designed by Bond Bryan architects and will be constructed by Willmott Dixon. The design includes sustainable features, such as energy efficient heating and lighting systems, the use of environmentally-friendly materials and facilities to encourage staff to cycle to and from work. Scheduled completion and opening will be in 2022.

Anthony Dillon, managing director of Willmott Dixon in the North, said: “It’s critical that those who work around the clock to keep us all safe have the right facilities and a suitable working environment for 21st century policing. These new modern facilities for Humberside Police are designed to create a state of the art and value for money environment, giving control room teams and officers in specialist units the very best support they need to serve the people of Humberside.

“We’re proud to be working in partnership once again with Humberside Police to support the modernisation of its estate, having also delivered the Birchin Way custody facility in Grimsby, the first to be delivered using our CODE pre-designed concept which we believe is the next generation for custodial facilities.”

Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “This is excellent news and we are delighted construction will now begin. The new building will provide Humberside Police with another state of the art facility, to complement the existing centre, and enhance further Melton West’s reputation as an outstanding location for investment by blue chip organisations.

“Melton West is rapidly becoming established as one of the most prestigious and desirable business parks in the North of England, with several other exciting developments in the pipeline.”

As well as the new police facility, Hull-based Wykeland recently received planning consent for a speculative 84,000 sq. ft. industrial development and a 40,000 sq. ft. office, distribution and warehouse centre for an unidentified user at Melton West. Wykeland has also submitted plans for an 88,000 sq. ft. distribution centre for an unnamed occupier, which would create around 450 jobs at the business park.