- Police are returning to their former Gloucester base at Bearland in Lower Longsmith Street.
- Police reception moved to Shire Hall when the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) surrendered the Constabulary’s 230 year lease on the building in 2015.
- PCC Martin Surl said, “The police are once again in a city centre location which they know and the public recognise.
- As part of the 2015 deal, the PCC also received a payment of £400,000 and an agreement the police could return to Bearland’s first and second floors following redevelopment.
Bearland was home to Gloucester Police for half a century and soon it will be again.
An official opening of the new police reception on Saturday (10 November) will mark the return to their former city centre base in Bearland in Lower Longsmith Street.
The new-look public reception
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl surrendered the Constabulary’s 230 year lease on the Bearland building to Gloucestershire County Council in 2015 in exchange for £400,000 and a fresh agreement for rent free accommodation on the ground floor following modernisation.
Mr. Surl said, “It has been a complicated project and there is still some work to be done to the rest of the building. But at least the police are once again in a city centre location which they know and the public recognise.
“The location has made it a difficult job to manage and I am grateful to the county council for allowing the police to move back into their part of the building at the first realistic opportunity.
“I hope this will help both the county and city councils in the continued redevelopment of the city centre and the Blackfriars Development”.
A number of city based officers and PCSOs will operate from Bearland to help police Gloucester Quays, the city centre and the night-time economy. The new police reception desk at Bearland will become available to the public from Thursday 8 November opening Monday to Saturday from 0800-2000hrs.
Officers and PCSOs will also be based at Barton Street and will still be able to assist members of the public should they go to the station to ask for urgent help.
