POLICE in Trowbridge are to move to a temporary station ahead of the demolition of the old building at Polebarn Road.

Policing in the town will be from Parade House at Wicker Hill from next week, while work is carried out on a new £2 million station for the town on the same Polebarn Road land as the existing station.

Inspector Jon Tapper of Trowbridge police said: "Policing operations for Trowbridge will not at any stage be compromised, police officers will still be working from Trowbridge throughout the move.

"When we are fully moved there will be the same number of officers in the town as there are now."

The decision to demolish the existing cramped 1920s building, which was created from four converted police houses, and to build a new station has attracted much controversy in the town.

The old station has no proper washing facilities and the inside of the building is a rabbit warren of offices which police struggle to work from.

Insp Tapper said: "My people give 110 per cent and it could be so much better if they had the facilities they deserve."

The new station will have purpose-built open-plan offices where CID, uniformed officers and supervisors are all in the same place.

This will make working easier just by making it possible for people to communicate with each other.

The main objections to the new station have centred on the modern design, which many feel is out of keeping with surrounding buildings, and a second access to the station off Yerbury Street.

Wiltshire Police looked at 23 other sites in the town over a period of four years but said none were suitable and planning permission for the new station was given last year amid fears that the police would otherwise pull out of the town.

A removal firm will be handling the relocation to Parade House, moving equipment over four days, starting on May 12. Notices will be put up at the old and new sites but people planning to come into the station on Tuesday or Wednesday are advised to call first to check which site to go to.

The old building is due to be handed over to contractors next month to allow surveys to be done before demolition and then building work begins.

It is hoped that, all going well, officers can begin working from the new building in about a year's time.