South Wiltshire police station - Engine Sheds put forward as possible site

It comes after a meeting in Salisbury Guildhall, when it was revealed by the police that High Post near Amesbury has emerged as the 'first and only option for a new police station in the south of the county. 

Durnford and Woodford Parish Councils are both asking the Police and Crime Commissioner to consider land known as the Engine Sheds, a site adjacent to the railway station in Salisbury. 

But PCC Philip Wilkinson says the site has already been considered.

"We have looked at the Engine Sheds site in the past, and the cost to decontaminate this site, so it would be suitable for a police station, meant it would make the project prohibitive," he said. 

The old Engine Sheds, some time in the 1960s or 1970s (Image: David John Mant)

Despite the PCC saying the Engine Sheds site is prohibitive, Durnford and Woodford Parish Councils believe it has many benefits, such as being within the city centre, being close to the law courts, and with easy access to the whole of the city. 

They added: "It fulfils all the primary criteria set out by the PCC being secure, self-contained and big enough, it provides room for expansion such as a new custody suite, it is owned by Wiltshire Council, and work could start quickly - it is already designated as development land in the current local plan."

At the meeting in the Guildhall, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Kier Pritchard stated several times that a new custody suite would likely be underutilised and too expensive. 

Peter Curtis, on behalf of the joint parish councils of Durnford and Woodford, said: “Salisbury and the surrounding areas need a police station centrally located within the community so that its officers can easily and efficiently access the whole Divisional area.

"This Engine Shed site delivers that. If supermarkets selling food can be built on former brownfield sites, then there’s no reason why we can’t have a police station on one. It’s environmentally advantageous, it offers real community policing, and it’s available now.”

According to the parish councils, support for a new police station in the centre of Salisbury also comes from the leader of Wiltshire Council Richard Clewer.

They say that at a Meet the Leader event in Amesbury on November 4, he discussed the Engine Shed site’s merits and "confirmed it was possible to build on the contaminated land".

Referring to proposals to build a new police station on a greenfield site, four miles north of Salisbury at High Post on the A345, Mr Clewer expressed concern about how effective such remote policing would be for Salisbury.

The two councils said they "urge the PCC and Wiltshire Council to start exploring this site and as Strategic Partners to agree a mutually beneficial price. Working together should reflect the stated wishes of both parties that a new police facility should be within the City of Salisbury and not remote from it".

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “I really appreciate the level of engagement all residents are taking with this issue. It is clear to me that we need a new police station for Salisbury and the south and I am heartened that residents are on side with this.

“As ever location is going to be key for everyone. We have looked at the Engine Sheds site in the past – in fact this very question was raised again at our recent meeting – and the cost to decontaminate this site, so it would be suitable for a Police Station, meant it would make the project prohibitive. There are also concerns with this area of Salisbury in terms of access in an event which closed the railway bridge at the west end of Fisherton Street.

“However, technology and dealing with this type of decontamination does move on, so at the same time as progressing further exploratory work with our preferred site at High Post, our project team will liaise with Wiltshire Council and look into this again.”