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The official ground breaking ceremony which marks the start of work on the site of the new police HQ for Southampton will take place on the afternoon of Friday, October 10. The ceremony will be carried out by the chair of the Hampshire Police Authority Councillor Jacqui Rayment. It will also be attended by Hampshire's Chief Constable, Paul Kernaghan and representatives from Southampton City Council. This will be one of Mr Kernaghan's last public engagements before retiring as Chief Constable on October 15. The new building will replace the current Southampton Central Police Station which is the HQ for the city's police service. The current building no longer meets the policing requirements for the city. The new one will bring a many of the policing facilities in the area under one roof which should lead to further improvements in service. In all around 530 staff are expected to based there. The other police stations in the city at Shirley, Portswood and Bitterne will remain open. The new building will be located on ground off Southern Road opposite the Novotel, which was formally occupied by the Norman Offer haulage company. Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Chair of the Hampshire Police Authority, said: "This ceremony marks the latest phase of what is one of the biggest projects we have ever undertaken. Once completed, this building will include the biggest custody facility in the county, a modern working environment for our officers and staff, and provide a focal point for policing in the city. "This is an exciting and challenging time for us, and the public can be assured that the Police Authority will be making sure that the spending of taxpayers' money on this project is being closely scrutinised to ensure we get the best value for money." The building has been designed to be a ‘Landmark' in the city while meeting police operation requirements. The building will also have a new state of the art custody centre with 42 cells. It will be built by Southampton based Brazier Construction, part of the Kier group, who have promised to provide the force with a modern and efficient building constructed on time, to budget, of quality and in a safe manner. Once the ground breaking ceremony has taken place on October 10 work is expected to start in a few weeks. The work for the removal of the pylon that is currently located on part of the site will commence in the new year. Once this has been completed the remaining building work can begin in earnest on the rest of the site. It's expected the building will be completed and ready for occupation in the autumn of 2010. For more information visit Hampshire Constabulary |
