POLICE in Marlborough will move to a new base after it was confirmed that the police station is set to close.

The likely replacement will be Corner House near the Waitrose car park off George Lane instead, which will have a front desk and interview room service. The date for the closure of the current station in George Lane is not known.

Sgt Pete Foster, deputy section leader for Marlborough at Wiltshire Police, said: “I don’t think the move will have a great difference to the service we already provide, if anything we will be a few minutes closer to the High Street where most call-outs are for. We will still have front desk staff there from 9am-5pm and there will be an interview room to be used by officers. I am working to make sure all officers cover the patch so they get to know the spots and residents and can be held accountable for their areas.Most communication is done through social media now.We will still respond to calls 24/7 which won’t change.”

Cllr Mark Cooper said: “There are concerns that there won’t be a time people can guarantee they can speak to a policeman of PSCO. I think it’s a shame that there is not a point of contact for older people who might not use social media. Sometimes people need that face-to-face response to listen to concerns and be reassured by a uniform.”

Mayor Lisa Farrell said: “I have sympathy for the officers who walk the beat, this is not a decision made by them. This is a decision by people higher up who have said, let’s just shut another station, let’s not worry about the elderly who live there and feel very vulnerable when they go out. I don’t think they’ve really thought about this.”  I worry about the stress put on the staff and officers. It must make people go off sick. Where will this stop.

Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “As far as the existing Marlborough police station is concerned, If and when we move into The Corner House and specialist colleagues currently based in the police station have been relocated to Swindon, I will then consider what options there are for the future of the site, one of which will be to offer it for sale.“At this stage, when we’ve only just submitted the change of use application for The Corner House, it’s too early to say what our timescales will be.“It is important to emphasise that, s

“Should the move go ahead, there would be no change in the service that the people of Marlborough receive.” from the Force. It would be business as usual.”

When the station was opened, it had state of the art terrorist cells fitted, however it will now close and the land be sold.

It is not known what will go in place of the station once the land is sold.