HAMPSHIRE Police Authority (HPA) has pressed ahead with controversial plans to close Tadley police station.
The Mulford’s Hill base has been earmarked for closure as the cash-strapped police force tries to save £50m per year. The move has been criticised by Tadley town councillors.
But the authority stressed the station would not be shut until an alternative location is found within the coummunity.
HPA chairwoman, Councillor Jacqui Rayment, said: “We knew that making these decisions would never be easy.
“The authority has been assured by the Chief Constable that safer neighbourhood policing teams will not be leaving local areas, but moving to new locations within the same communities. The move to new premises will allow frontline policing services to be at the heart of the communities they serve.”
But Tadley Town Council chairwoman, Jo Slimin, said the decision was a bitter blow for the town, with Royal Mail announcing plans to close the town’s sorting office earlier this year. In a letter to police chiefs she said: “This proposal will be seen as a double whammy with the resulting loss of another local service. This seems to be the complete opposite to providing local services for local people that the Government is promising.”
