The Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, is confirming changes to the way police buildings in the West Midlands will be used in future.
The Commissioner has approved plans, based on independent and impartial, operational policing proposals made by the Chief Constable, which will see a range of new or refurbished buildings brought into use, whilst other expensive and under-used sites will be sold or the leases left to expire.
The changes to the police estate support the new neighbourhood policing operating model, implemented by the Chief Constable, Craig Guildford. It will ensure more neighbourhood officers are working in local communities to keep people, families, business and communities safe and secure.
There will continue to be 10 Public Contact Offices across the West Midlands. In other words, a police station at which members of the public can attend, speak to a police officer and report a crime.
The review of the police estate, comes at a time when significant cost pressures mean the force has had to make cuts of £28 million in 2023/24 and must make cuts of £21 million in the next financial year (2024/25). The West Midlands is seriously disadvantaged when it comes to police funding, due to a national funding formula, that fails to allocate resources fairly.
In the Black Country, Dudley is set to get a brand-new police station at Castlegate Business Park. It will have a Public Contact Office, so local people can attend, speak to a police officer and report crimes in person, Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Response officers, who are ready to be deployed to a 999 call at a moments’ notice. Mr Foster is also pleased to announce, that Tipton’s station has been saved from closure. Instead, it will continue to house Neighbourhood Policing Teams, alongside Response officers.
In Birmingham, Quinton’s police building will be retained and will house Neighbourhood Policing Teams. Nechells will retain its current police base and the Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to use the site. Under previous proposals, both sites had been identified for closure.
Meanwhile, Coventry will benefit from newly-refurbished police building at Willenhall Chace Avenue, which will house Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response officers and a Custody Suite. The current police station, in the centre of Coventry, will be relocated within the city centre and will continue to provide a Public Contact Office and a base for neighbourhood policing teams. The existing building will not be disposed of, until a suitable alternative building has been located within the city centre. Money will be saved, by no longer building a new Custody Suite in the city. Instead, existing Custody Suites have been re-opened at Bloxwich in Walsall and Stechford in East Birmingham.
As was set out in the original 2018 strategy, both Acocks Green and Kings Heath police buildings, will be disposed of and officers will relocate locally and within the Local Policing Area.
Force Contact, where the public’s 999 and 101 calls are answered, is being centralised into one site at Park Lane in Birmingham. This replaces the four offices in Wednesfield, Birmingham, Coventry and West Bromwich.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “When I was elected, I pledged to rebuild community policing. I am pleased that we are able to announce, a range of new, retained and refurbished police buildings, as part of this estates’ strategy. This investment will ensure a police estate that is fit for the 21st century.
“The plan places significant importance on community policing and police officers, working in local communities, to prevent, tackle and reduce crime, to keep people, families, businesses and the local community safe and secure.
“Police stations are important, because they provide a reassuring and visible presence for communities. This plan will ensure the region retains as many as possible, whilst prioritising maintaining police officer numbers and managing a budget, that remains under severe pressure.
“10 Public Contact Offices, will be kept in place across the region.
“The new police estate, will strive to be greener and more sustainable than ever and I wholeheartedly support that.”
Whilst the Chief Constable, Craig Guildford, said:
“Our investment in technology and a new approach to working in different ways will also help us continue to deliver while reducing the footprint of our costly estate.
“We will be working quickly to make these changes to our estate but I want to be clear with people. Our plan is evidence-based and there are key principles that guided decision making. This includes our pledge to provide locally accessible Public Contact Offices where people can visit us in person to access our services, Neighbourhood teams located in or very close to the communicates they serve and where we can share a site with partners this should be our preferred option, finally our emergency response services need to be located so that they can meet our urgent requests for help.”
Below is the list of changes being made to police stations in the West Midlands:
Key
LPA: Local Policing Area. These mirror the Local Authority areas.
BH: Birmingham
CV: Coventry
DY: Dudley
SH: Solihull
SW: Sandwell
WS: Walsall
WV: Wolverhampton
HQ: Headquarters
| LPA | Site | Details | Projected delivery date (not before) | 2021 Review | 2023 Review |
| BH | Acocks Green | The current teams, who carry out corporate policing functions, will move to Stechford police station after it has been refurbished. Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally. Acocks Green Police Station will be sold. | Summer’25 | Under Review | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Balsall Heath | The current teams, who carry out corporate policing functions, will be re-located to other WMP sites and then Balsall Heath police building will be sold. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate & then dispose |
| BH | Castle Vale | Neighbourhood Policing Teams are currently co-located within a partner building. This will continue. | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Kings Heath | The current teams, who carry out corporate policing functions, will relocate to other Birmingham police buildings. Kings Heath will be sold. | Autumn’25 | Under Review | Relocate & then dispose |
| BH | Moseley | Retain Moseley police building with its current 4 Neighbourhood Policing Teams | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Shard End | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally. The current teams, who carry out corporate policing functions, will relocate to other police buildings. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Stechford | This building will be refurbished and will act as the Birmingham Police HQ. There will be a Public Contact Office, corporate policing functions, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response and a newly re-opened Custody Suite. | Winter’24 | Retain | Retain |
| BH | Sutton Coldfield | Neighbourhood Police Teams, Response, the Public Contact Office and corporate policing functions will be relocated locally, before the current site is sold. | Winter’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Sutton Coldfield – Anchorage Road Annexe | The Anchorage Rd Annexe sits on the wider Sutton Coldfield police site. The plan is to relocate the corporate policing teams that currently use the Annexe to other WMP police buildings and sell the site. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate & then Dispose |
| BH | Erdington | Site to be refurbished and the current teams to remain including Neighbourhood Policing Teams | Summer’25 | Retain | Retain |
| BH | Billesley WMFRS | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to be co-located with West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service. No change. | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Bournville Lane | Options for a more efficient building either on the existing site or within the local area are being explored which will include a Public Contact Office. | Retain | Under Review | |
| BH | Broadway School | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to be co-located within Broadway School. No change. | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Edgbaston | Building has been refurbished and corporate policing teams relocated from Ladywood. | Autumn’23 | Retain | Retain |
| BH | Harborne | Neighbourhood Policing Teams to relocate to Quinton. Corporate functions to relocate within WMP estate | Winter’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Kings Norton WMFRS | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to be co-located with West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Northfield WMFRS | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to be co-located with West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Quinton | The site will be reopened and Neighbourhood Policing Teams from Harborne will relocate to Quinton. | Spring’24 | Disposal | Retain |
| BH | Aston (Queens Rd) | Aston police building will be lightly refurbished and will continue to support corporate policing functions, | Spring’24 | Under Review | Retain |
| BH | Central Custody | This is a recent new-build. No change to site. | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Central Lock-Up (Museum) | This has been recently refurbished. No change to site. | Retain | Retain | |
| BH | Digbeth | Neighbourhood Policing Teams & all other corporate policing functions will relocate locally. | Winter’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Handsworth | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally and all other teams will relocate to police building within Birmingham | Spring’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| BH | Nechells | This is site is now being retained. It will continue to house the current 3 Neighbourhood Policing Teams, plus an additional Neighbourhood Policing Team from Digbeth. | Disposal | Retain | |
| BH | Newtown | Site to be refurbished. Neighbourhood Policing Teams and corporate police teams will then move in. | Spring’24 | Retain – refurb | Retain |
| BH | Steelhouse Lane | This site is due to sold. Current Corporate policing teams will relocate to other WMP sites | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate & then dispose |
| BH | Summerfield | This site has already been refurbished. The current Neighbourhood Policing Teams and corporate policing teams will continue to be based here. | Retain | Retain | |
| CV | Bell Green | The site supports Neighbourhood Policing Teams. It’s future use is under review. | Under Review | Under Review | |
| CV | Canley | Current Neighbourhood Policing Teams & Response will relocate locally. All other policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings before the site will be sold. | Autumn’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| CV | Coventry Central | Current Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Public Contact Office will relocate within the city centre. All other teams will relocate within WMP police buildings before site is sold. | Spring’25 | Retain | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| CV | Foleshill | Current Neighbourhood Policing Teams & Response will relocate locally. All other policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings before the site will be sold. | Spring’25 | Retain | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| CV | Willenhall Chace Avenue | This site will be retained and refurbished. It will become the new HQ for Coventry police. It will house Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response, corporate policing teams and a Custody Suite. | Summer’24 | Under Review | Retain |
| CV | Willenhall Single Quarters | The Willenhall Single Quarters sits on the wider Willenhall Chace Avenue site. Whilst Willenhall Chace Avenue will be retained, the Single Quarters will be sold. | Spring’24 | Disposal | Relocate & then dispose |
| CV | Sir Henry Park’s Road | This site was bought with the intention of building a new Custody Suite on it. However, the new operating model has seen custody suites opened at Stechford and Bloxwich which means this site is no longer required and will be sold. | Spring’25 | New-build | Dispose |
| DY | New Dudley HQ | A new preferred site for Dudley HQ has been found at Castlegate Business Park and contracts have been exchanged. It will be refurbished and there will be a new Public Contact Office based here, as well as Response, corporate policing teams and Neighbourhood Policing Teams. | Summer’25 | Acquisition & New-build | Acquisition – Freehold |
| DY | Brierley Hill | To be sold after Neighbourhood Policing Teams are relocated locally and the Public Contact Office, Response and corporate policing teams are relocated to Dudley HQ. | Winter’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| DY | Dudley WMFRS (Sedgley) | The Neighbourhood Policing Team are currently co-located with West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service. This will continue. | Retain | Retain | |
| DY | Dudley St James’ Road | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate to New Dudley HQ. The site is currently leased. This lease will no longer continue. | Winter’25 | Disposal | Serve notice & vacate leasehold property |
| DY | Halesowen | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally. Other corporate policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings. The site will be sold. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| SH | Chelmsley Wood | Currently Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response and corporate policing teams are based at this police building. Due to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s plans to redevelop the area, WMP will look to relocate to another site locally. | Summer’24 | Retain | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| SH | Solihull | To be sold after Neighbourhood Policing Teams, the Public Contact Office and all other policing teams have relocated locally. The new site will become the new Solihull Police HQ. | Winter’24 | Disposal | Relocate within town centre & then dispose |
| SH | Winchcombe Road | The site will be sold. | Spring’24 | Retain | Relocate & then dispose |
| SW | Haden Cross WMFRS | The Neighbourhood Policing Teams are currently co-located with West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service. This will continue. | Retain | Retain | |
| SW | Oldbury | Neighbourhood Policing Teams have already co-located with Sandwell Council. Corporate policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings before the site is sold. | Spring’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| SW | Smethwick | Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Response will relocate locally. Corporate policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings. Site to be sold. | Winter’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| SW | Tipton | This site will now be retained. It houses existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams, corporate policing teams and, more recently, Response. | Disposal | Retain | |
| SW | Wednesbury | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally. Other teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings before being sold. | Winter’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| SW | West Bromwich | This will be lightly refurbished and will continue as the Sandwell Police HQ. It will house corporate policing teams, a Public Contact Office, Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Response. | Spring’25 | Retain | Retain |
| SW | Western Custody | This is a recent new-build. No change to site. | Retain | Retain | |
| SW | Windmill House | This recruitment facility will be moved to a different police building. The site will be sold. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate & then dispose |
| WS | Aldridge | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally and all other teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings, before the site is sold. | Summer’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| WS | Bloxwich | The site has been recently refurbished and will remain as the Walsall Police HQ. It houses a Public Contact Office, Response, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Custody suite and corporate policing teams. | Retain | Retain | |
| WS | Walsall Civic Centre | This partnership council site houses the existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams and, more recently, Response. This will continue. | Retain | Retain | |
| WS | Willenhall Walsall | Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally before the site is sold. | Spring’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| WV | Bilston | The site has recently been refurbished and supports existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams, corporate policing teams and, more recently, Response. | Retain | Retain | |
| WV | Low Hill | The site has recently been refurbished and supports existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams and, more recently, Response. | Retain | Retain | |
| WV | Pennwood Court | The current Neighbourhood Policing Teams have re-located to Low Hill police building and the site is required. Lease will end Feb’24. | Winter’23 | Retain | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| WV | Wednesfield | The existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams will relocate locally. All other corporate policing teams will relocate within WMP police buildings before the site is sold. | Winter’24 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| WV | Wolverhampton Central | The site will be refurbished and remain as Wolverhampton Police HQ. It will house a Public Contact Office, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response, a Custody Suite and corporate policing teams. | Winter’24 | Retain | Retain |
| HQ | Bradford Street | The current corporate policing teams will relocate to another site before Bradford Street site is sold. | Summer’25 | Retain | Relocate & then dispose |
| HQ | CMPG Perry Barr | No change. Site to retained. | Retain | Retain | |
| SH | Balsall Common | The site will be retained and will continue to house Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Dog Training and, more recently, Response. | Retain | Retain | |
| HQ | Ladywood | The current corporate policing teams will relocate to other WMP police buildings before the site is sold. | Spring’25 | Disposal | Relocate locally & then dispose |
| HQ | Lloyd House | Lloyd House is the WMP Police HQ. It houses a Public Contact Office, corporate policing teams and Birmingham Policing Teams. The site is being reviewed to see whether more teams can be relocated to Lloyd House. | Retain | Retain pending the outcome of a review | |
| HQ | Logistics Centre | No change. Site to be retained. It houses corporate policing teams. | Retain | Retain | |
| HQ | Park Lane | No change. Site to be retained. It currently houses corporate policing teams, Event Control, Firearms, Response and will also house a centralised Force Contact call centre. | Retain | Retain | |
| HQ | Cosford | It is currently a Tactical Training Centre. It’s use is under review. | Retain | Under Review | |
| HQ | Ridgepoint House | This will undergo a light touch refurbishment. It will continue to house corporate policing teams. | Winter’24 | Under Review | Retain |
| HQ | Tally Ho | It is currently a WMP training college. A review is taking place into how the force uses the site in future. | Under Review | Under Review |
