Second Hull police station may go

The divisional headquarters with a 40-cell custody suite on a former gasworks site on Clough Road will replace Queens Gardens police station in the city centre by 2013.

But police also want to move facilities and staff currently based at Tower Grange police station, on Holderness Road, east Hull.

Adding the extra space to the new building in Clough Road will add an extra seven-figure sum to the 26m project, and senior officers will be seeking approval at a behind-closed-doors meeting of the finance committee of Humberside Police Authority on May 18 – just a few days before they expect to submit a planning application to Hull Council for the development.

Assistant Chief Officer (Support) Phil Goatley, from Humberside Police, said ultimately Tower Grange could shut – but an alternative contact point would be provided for the public, probably in a partner arrangement with another organisation.

He said the new building – which would generate a proportion of its own energy needs and act as a "one-stop shop specialist facility" – would drive down costs.

The extra money required to finance it would be borrowed over a 30-year period.

He said: "A lot of the buildings are old, not only are they not operationally fit for purpose they are relatively expensive to run and maintain."

He added: "I think the case we are making next Tuesday is a strong one on value for money grounds as it is on providing operational and business benefits."

Councillors will be asked to approve the extra borrowing to incorporate so-called "added value" elements within the new building, including the operational support section, currently based at Tower Grange, from where it provides search, firearms and tactical support, the property store on Bontoft Avenue and the East incident response team from Bransholme Police Station.

The crime incident and management unit at Tower Grange would also be relocated.

The force could make money from selling buildings like Tower Grange police station, and they would also save 40,000 rent for their property store on Bontoft Avenue.

The Queens Gardens site is also a prime target for redevelopment.

The new four-storey building, with an "inviting" public space outside, will be a prominent new landmark in the city.

It may even have green roofs, and helical wind turbines in the car park and solar panels, feeding back any extra energy back into the National Grid, and generating extra income for the police.

The force has said it needs to move to comply with new national standards for custody suites, and says the quality and number of cells at Queens Gardens, a site it has occupied for 50 years, are inadequate.

According to a report initial discussions have been held with councillors who sit on the planning committee who "generally were supportive, mirroring their support given to the scheme at outline planning application and site acquisition stage."

However there were concerns over how staff would get to the new HQ because bus operator Stagecoach had withdrawn the route.

Planning needs to go in by the end of the month as each quarter of a year delay can add as much as 200,000 to the building costs.

Subject to getting the plans approved, construction should begin in January next year, with the new building up and running by the end of February 2013.