POLICE have issued a pledge to residents they will get a better service when their local front counter closes.
Lancashire Police claim residents will not be affected when the front counters at Lytham, Cleveleys, South Shore and Garstang police stations close on October 1.
Instead, Chief Supt Sarah Oldham said they will get a “better quality of service” from the remaining front counters.
Community groups and councillors campaigned for months to save their local front counters, with residents in Poulton succeeding in keeping theirs open.
The four closures locally are part of Lancashire Police’s bid to save £43m by 2015, with £386,000 being saved by closing 14 counters across the county, £4.5m by selling off other police buildings and around £500,000 in the running costs of those buildings.
Chief Supt Oldham said: “The changes to front counter provision were necessary, not just to save money but also to bring some level of consistency to the level of service provided to the public.
“We fully appreciate that where closures happen the public may be concerned but the majority of people will have less than five miles to travel to an alternative front counter where they should experience a much better quality of service.”
Lancashire police said the remaining 24 front counters would offer more consistent opening hours and a better range of services for residents.
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