Police stations to close across Fylde coast

Today chief officers revealed they will close a number of facilities while removing the front counter access from others - despite officers remaining on site.

But Lancashire Police have vowed to ask members of the public for their views on the future policing the Fylde coast, although they hope to push through the plans which could save up to £1m annually and ensure one-off property sales of more than £4m across the county.

Bosses said they had already looked at which stations were used the most by the public and that formed the basis of their plans.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cooke said: “The constabulary recognises the closure of any front counter, or indeed any police premise, is iconic for the public and will cause concern.

“This is why it has looked closely at visitor numbers in particular to identify those which are used the most in order to limit the impact to a potentially smaller number of people.

“We fully expect that this will be a difficult discussion for us to have with the public and one that will be highly emotive, but there is the potential to save in the region of £1m per year in running costs through the proposals set out in this review, and more than £4million from the sale of the properties. These are significant sums of money.

“It will be vital for us to carefully consider how we strike the right balance between finding the savings while limiting the impact on the public and protecting officer numbers in what is an already constricting environment.”

Stations in Blackpool, St Annes, South Shore, Kirkham, Bispham, Lytham, Freckleton, Singleton and Weeton would be affected in the force’s Western Division.

In Northern, which covers Fleetwood and Wyre, the port’s station would remain open while affected premises would include Garstang, Poulton, Cleveleys, Preesall and Hambleton.

FOR THE FULL STORY AND ALL THE REACTION SEE TUESDAY’S GAZETTE.