Cop a look at £56m police headquarters

Reporter: JANICE BARKER
Date online: 19/02/2010

MOTORISTS on their way to Manchester from Oldham will soon be passing a major new police station development.

A £56 million project to improve police buildings in the North Manchester Division has been signed and sealed.

The deal includes a new divisional headquarters at Central Park, Newton Heath, just over the Failsworth boundary, and includes a base for counter-terrorism officers.

But it spells the end of Manchester’s historic Bootle Street and Grey Mare Lane stations, both earmarked for closure in 2013, and Newton Heath station will shut in November next year.

A separate custody suite of 30 new cells will be built at Central Park to replace cells at Bootle Street, Collyhurst and Grey Mare Lane.

The new divisional headquarters will eventually be the base for Oldham’s former chief superintendent, Caroline Ball, following her transfer to head the North Manchester division after more than four years at the helm in the borough.

Greater Manchester Police Authority has provided the bulk of the funding for the project — more than £51 million. The Government contribution of almost £5m from the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism will provide the counter-terrorism offices.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “The police buildings in North Manchester are not fit for purpose.

“They do not support modern day policing and investment is vital if we are to continue delivering an ever-improving police service.”