Town Centre Police Office PLUS constabulary H.Q. Garage & Warehouse on Business Park
Durham Police Authority Chairman Peter Thompson accompanied by Gary Ridley, Assistant Chief Officer and local Inpsector Mark Hall brought good news to the Public Meeting on Policing in the town, called by the Great Aycliffe Residents Association last Thursday.
St. Mary’s Church was well attended following revelations the new Police Station for Newton Aycliffe would not be as promised, but a shared facility with the Fire Station. Residents were pleased there would be a police office in the centre of the community as requested, but wanted it more than a part-time manned, telephone facility.
Peter Thompson was invited to the Public Meting to explain what exactly the Police Authority proposed. He confirmed there will be a separate office at the Fire Station with dedicated staff offering the same services as the former Police Station next door, waiting to be demolished. We will not get a purpose built Police Station as it is not required. 90% of contact with police nowadays is by telephone. Police Stations are expensive to build and the current savage cuts to the Police budget do not allow for wasted resources.
The Police Station on the Business Park will remain in addition to the Town Centre office, and continue to be the main base of operations for officers. Gary Ridley gave good reasons why they are happy with the situation, as statistics show crime in Aycliffe continues to drop and our area has the distinction of being the safest, crime free town in the county if not the country!
We have staggering results on detection rates and all crime dropped by 36%. Anti Social Behaviour and alcohol abuse was down by 45%. There were only ten burglaries in our area and only 12 cars stolen over the whole year which is extrtemely low for a town of our size. This is making Aycliffe a very attractive place to live and will please people and industry moving to our town.
The Police believe they have a winning strategy but agree a police presence in the twon centre is necessary to maintain these levels of success. The Chief Constable Jon Stoddart told the Town Council at a meeting the previous night, the figures were very acceptable considering the fact his force had dropped from 1,770 to 1370 due to budget cuts.
However the police are now starting to recruit more officers and PCSO’s are proving to be a very effective form of policing. Jon retires after 30 years service next month and the Mayor Val Raw took the opportunity to thank him for his excellent work, wishing him a happy retirement.
The other good news for Aycliffe is that as a result of the downsizing of Police HQ at Aykley Heads, part of that establishment will be situated on Aycliffe Business Park. It is thought the ideal choice having excellent access to the Motorway.
A large Advance Factory has been purchased to provide a Warehouse, Garage, Workshop and other resources for the 400 vehicles owned by Durham Constabulary. These vehicles have to be repaired and serviced so residents will see lots of police cars in the area, heightening police presence and benefitting the local economy at the same time..
The Town Council and all residents welcome this large development to Aycliffe and the GARA Committee believe the figures and proposals presented at the Public Meeting are acceptable. GARA believes its campaign has been very successful and like the Bin Collection issue proved that you can affect decisions being made by Authorities if you unite and express your opinion.
Town Centre Police Staion to be established in the right side office of the Fire Station
