Former police station purchased for St Albans city centre rejuvenation scheme
St Albans City and District Council’s City centre redevelopment plans have taken a significant step forward with the purchase of the former police station in Victoria Street.
The Council wants to rejuvenate St Albans City centre by building new offices, homes and retail units as well as improving public open spaces and walkways. This follows the public design charrette for the site organised by the independent, community-led group Look! St Albans, in September 2016.
Earlier this year, the Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner agreed to sell the former police station to the Council following a competitive bidding process for the site. The Council completed the purchase on 25 October.
The Council is also planning to buy the former NHS Clinic off Bricket Road and is the preferred bidder for this site. Once this transaction completes, land the Council already owns to the north of Civic Close will be linked to the former police station site in the south.
Cllr Julian Daly, Commercial and Development Portfolio Holder for St Albans City and District Council, said: “We want to redevelop this part of the centre of St Albans in a cohesive way that benefits the whole community. The Council is already working on plans to redevelop the land it owns in the north of what is known as the City centre opportunity site. The purchase of the former police station in the south increases the footprint of our plans for the City centre rejuvenation project.”
Built in the 1960s, the former police station was closed in 2015 as it was no longer fit purpose. A replacement police station has been operating at the Civic Centre offices since the closure.
David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “The old police station wasn’t suitable for modern day operational duties, and my Community Safety and Criminal Justice Plan sets out the need for the police to make the best use of our resources.
“The St Albans policing team have relocated to a fully operational police station in the Council offices where they work alongside community safety colleagues.
“This development will deliver on-going revenue to spend on local policing, and I’m pleased to see that the Council is working with partners from across the public sector to deliver an exciting new space for residents in St Albans.”
Last week, Cabinet was given an update on the Council’s plans in relation to the City centre redevelopment project. More information is available in the Cabinet papers published on the Council’s website. A webcast of the Cabinet meeting is also available online.
Councillor contact:
Cllr Julian Daly, Commercial and Development Portfolio Holder for St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 07775 657200
Email: cllr.j.daly@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson, Senior Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
Email: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Police and Crime Commissioner:
Paul Scoins, Senior Communications and Engagement Officer, Hertfordshire PCC, 01707 806163 / 07736 480 035, paul.scoins@herts.pcc.pnn.gov.uk
Notes:
• Information about the Council’s City centre redevelopment scheme is contained in the press release ‘Two land deals give fresh impetus to Council's City Centre plans’ (link content no longer available due to retirement of former website) This was issued on 23 June 2017.
• A design charrette is a relatively short focused collaborative planning method; which brings the talents, energies and local knowledge of interested parties to the table, to tackle site specific design aspects of buildings and surrounding open spaces. Further details of Look! St Albans charrette can be found at: www.lookstalbans.org/ccos.html (link content no longer available due to retirement of former website)