Bat experts green light Commissioner’s £5m Exmouth Police Station plan

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez is pressing on with plans to build a new police station in a Devon resort after a bat survey gave her the all-clear.

Planners for East Devon District Council were unable to accept a planning application for the station North Street, Exmouth, earlier this year because the bat survey results had not been submitted as part of the application.

As well as a substantial policing facility, the site includes former magistrates court buildings and a civil defence shelter. The Commissioner’s estates team had to wait until summer for a survey of the site to establish if bats were present before redevelopment could be considered.

Experts have now concluded that no bats are roosting there, and the Commissioner’s team are now working with East Devon District Council officers to develop a suitable proposal for the site which can go before the authority’s planning committee.

The new station will have a staffed police enquiry office (PEO), and when finished it will conclude the Commissioner’s project to open or reopen 18 PEOs around Devon and Cornwall.

The Commissioner owns and manages around 130 buildings in the Devon & Cornwall Police Estate. She said: “Wonderful wildlife is a part of what makes Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly a wonderful place to live in, and while it is frustrating for officers, staff and volunteers to have to wait a bit longer to replace this building with a 21st Century alternative, I understand why we had to.

“I am pleased for those who will be working in Exmouth Police Station, and the public who will once again have access to a front desk in their community, that this project is back on track and design work is under way.

“Exmouth is one of many locations in Devon and Cornwall which see significant rises in summer populations and I will be working with the force to ensure it gets the resources it needs.”

The station is estimated to cost around £5m and will include the addition of housing on part of the site.

The Commissioner owns and manages around 130 Devon & Cornwall Police buildings. Her plan to open more community police stations to the public saw 13 reopen before April 2024, a further four will reopen this financial year with Exmouth likely to be the final one in the programme.

She has campaigned for central Government to recognise the pressure on forces who deal with high numbers of visitors which they are not funded to police.

People can attend to report crime, receive crime prevention advice and information on services for victims of crime. A full list of Devon & Cornwall Police stations and opening times can be found at www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/contact/find-a-police-station.