Cheshire Constabulary have submitted plans to build a a new two storey police station at their site which will make a portion of the land available for future development.
The replacement police station will be located on the site of the existing car park where there are currently 35 spaces. The new building itself will accommodate multipurpose spaces - including an interview room, a gym for the officers on ground floor, the kitchen, rest rooms and open plan offices on the first floor along with with 15 car parking spaces.
Due to the scale and nature of the proposed police station, the Constabulary hopes to secure planning permission in advance of McCarthy Stone, who have already submitted an application to construct 55 retirement apartments on the rest of the site, so that the new police station can be delivered
On grant of planning permission, the Constabulary will maintain occupation of the existing police station and construct the new police station within the car park. Staff and officers will then move over to the new police station once completed.
If McCarthy Stone do secure planning permission for its retirement apartments development in advance of completion of the new police station, the Constabulary has agreed a nine-month window under which it can continue to occupy the existing station to give them sufficient time for the new station to be completed and the existing station to be vacated.
The plans can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council planning portal by searching for planning reference 23/0219M.
Comments
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There will be no emergency responders based in the new building and there will be no public access. There will be a telephone point for the public to use but it is not likely to be answered by the occupants of the building - it will be answered from a central location.
If the plans are studied, it is clear that all pedestrian and vehicular access to the Police site will be though the car park for the proposed McCarthy Stone development on the site of the former Police building. The McCarthy Stone development is for retirement apartments (c60 apartments and 50 car park spaces.)
Does it make sense for the access to the Police building (or, indeed, any office development) being via a car park specifically for the elderly - who will have a variety of mobility, visibility and hearing issues.
This is a site which is to be completely redeveloped. Surely common sense by the designers could come up with a plan to create separate access points so that the Police users do not cross the car park for the potentially vulnerable residents of the McCarthy Stone development.
The Police and McCarthy Stone proposals will be two separate planning applications. The planners will consider them in isolation from each other.