Police stations sale halted by Police and Crime Commissioner (From Surrey Comet)

Police stations sale halted by Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley

8:30am Monday 28th January 2013 in News By Hardeep Matharu

The sale of 10 police stations across Surrey has been halted by the new Police and Crime Commissioner.   

Kevin Hurley, who was elected in November, has demanded a pause in the sale of police stations in Epsom, Leatherhead and Banstead, as well as those in Esher, Haslemere, Old Woking, Camberley, Horley, Sunbury and Chertsey.

The sales of East Molesey and Egham police stations are nearly complete and will continue.

One of Mr Hurley’s first actions upon taking office was to call for a review of the policy of police station disposals in the county, which began in 2010.

The sales have been suspended to ensure that the best possible value is being recouped for the properties and there is no plan to reopen any of the properties as police stations.

Epsom’s police station, in The Parade, shut down last year, with its services being transferred to Epsom town hall. Police have been operating from their new base since April. 

Mr Hurley said: "I want to be absolutely certain that we are getting the maximum possible value for the public from these assets.

"Pausing these 10 sales gives us the opportunity to assure ourselves that we are not missing any opportunities to do better for the public."

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Harris, who led on the stations review on behalf of Mr Hurley, added: "The basic logic of the policy remains sound - co-locating police teams with councils has helped improve services to the public.

"Closing ageing and barely-used stations has reduced our maintenance costs.

"However I think the time is right to look at the disposals currently underway and assess whether we can take a more commercially-minded approach to maximise their value."