Two police stations to close amid funding squeeze

Two police stations and an interviewing facility in Wiltshire will close in a bid to save millions of pounds.

Wiltshire Police has announced that Devizes Borough Police Station and Amesbury Police Station - neither of which have any public access - are to shut by the end of April.

It was announced in January that the force needed to find more than £5m in savings after government funding was allocated.

Chief Constable Catherine Roper said she was "fully committed to ensuring our frontline resources are serving in the places our communities need us the most".

Under the plans a police facility on Wilton Road, Salisbury, which has no permanent staff based on site, was also set to close with the video interviewing facility there relocated to Tidworth.

The local policing team and detectives at Devizes Borough Police Station were set to relocate less than a mile away to the force's headquarters, while the officers and staff who used Amesbury as a touch down point would keep using Tidworth Police Station as a base.

Meanwhile, a front counter which will be accessible to members of the public was to open at headquarters in Devizes.

Local policing teams and detectives at both stations were to be moved to nearby stations, while a police facility where video interviews were carried out in Salisbury will be relocated.

Chief Constable Roper said: "As per my commitment earlier this year, we will not close any police station which has a public front counter – the three facilities detailed here do not have any public access.

"However, with the proposal to open a fully functional public front desk at our HQ site by the end of April, we will be increasing the number of locations the public can access our services.

The county's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said he would "fully support" the approach, adding it was "based upon operational need, in ensuring Wiltshire Police remains visible, accessible, and responsive to the needs of our communities".

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