Planning changes could have major consequences for police headquarters
Proposals to bring West Mercia Police’s headquarters under tighter planning controls would hamper the force’s ability to evolve and keep people safe, its commissioner has warned.
The Hindlip Park base in Worcester, which is also home to Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, sits within the West Midlands Green Belt but is classed as a ‘major developed site’ (MDS).
However there are now plans to withdraw this status, meaning strict planning regulations applicable to green belt land would impact any future developments at the site.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has now said the change would have huge consequences for his force’s future at Hindlip.
The proposal is contained in the draft new South Worcestershire Development Plan, drawn up by Worcester City Council, Malvern Hills District Council and Wychavon District Council, which has been submitted for examination this month.
Speaking at a meeting of West Mercia Police and Crime Panel, Mr Campion said: “We have an established site at Hindlip Park which we will need to adjust over the years and develop. The current proposals would fetter our discretion to do that.
“Our representation has been that we need that (MDS) status to be able to run the site.
“We are never going to be able to build high rise buildings there, it’s in the middle of the countryside, but we need the ability to develop the operational police base that it is.
“Hindlip Park is the centre of West Mercia Police’s function. There are a number of very important functions that are based there, and the removal of our ability to operate there would be to the detriment of being able to keep people safe in West Mercia, and the wider region because of the status of the site.”
Mr Campion said plans to build a £17 million firearms training facility at the site could be scuppered if the new policy is adopted.
He said: “If that comes into force before we get the planning application delivered it will make it significantly harder. I think that’s a risk to the project.”
A report to the panel said the new development plan posed a “significant risk” to the “long-term viability of Hindlip as a police headquarters”.
Mr Campion, former Chief Constable Pippa Mills and fire service bosses objected to the proposal in a letter to the planning inspectors appointed to scrutinise the draft plan.
They said bringing the site into the wider green belt would have “substantial negative operational impacts” for both organisations.
The letter said: “The multiple facilities on-site are the base for over 1,500 officers and staff, who undertake an extensive range of operational, strategic, administrative and training duties.
“This is why the delivery of emergency services, preparedness and resilience across the whole of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and the wider region is dependent on the site being able to operate effectively and efficiently.
“To ensure these services continue to be of the highest standards to the public we serve, it is wholly necessary to ensure that the infrastructure, facilities and capabilities of Hindlip Park are continually strengthened and updated as operational needs evolve and Government priorities demand.
“This means there is now an extremely high risk that projects crucial for the safety and security of the public will either be delayed or stopped entirely. That is unacceptable.”
