South policing hub to fill "gaping hole" in Police capabilities, says PCC
Six acres of land in Old Sarum has been secured for a new Police Station in Wiltshire
A new Policing Hub in the South of Wiltshire is expected to be a major boost to the Force's capabilities, according to the Police and Crime Commissioner.
PCC Philip Wilkinson says the project will fill "a gaping hole" in the Force's capacity to serve the public.
The scheme will be funded by a loan of around £20 million and planning applications are expected to be submitted in Autumn 2026.
Relief and satisfaction for the PCC
Mr Wilkinson told Greatest Hits Radio that he is "hugely relieved" to be able to progress a project that has been years in the pipeline.
"We've got Bourne Hill in Salisbury, in the city centre, but it's so inadequate for what we actually need," he said. "We do not have a proper, fully functioning, police station south of the A303, which is a third of the county. It's huge."
He revealed that it's a "very satisfying" moment, for both himself and Chief Constable Catherine Roper, with the PCC telling us that people living in the Salisbury area have demanded a new police station in the south of the county since he became Commissioner in 2021.
"The first thing that the residents of Salisbury said to me was: 'You used to have a great police station in Wilton Road, and now you've got this inappropriate place at Bourne Hill'."
He added that officers working out of the site shared with Wiltshire Council have been calling for a dedicated facility too.
"The officers were saying they find it incredibly difficult to deliver the service we want to deliver as professionals and that the residents of Wiltshire deserve and pay for," Mr Wilkinson said.
The new facility will provide significant boosts to service victims receive, with private victim suites, as well as rooms to interview offenders.
It will also house specialist teams, such as CID and armed response, while also providing increased visibility and better response times.
Project to go ahead - despite financial constraints
This year, the Force has had to make almost £7 million in savings, after Government funding left the Force with an unbalanced budget.
And while that situation could be repeated in the coming years, Mr Wilkinson is confident that the new South Policing Hub will be built as planned, barring total financial disaster.
He said the Force will apply for Government funding to support the scheme, but admitted it was unlikely to be granted.
But the PCC said that he has budgeted for a new station in the south in his Medium Term Financial Strategy, which is a four-year financial plan.
"We contingency plan for all sorts of financial variations," he told us. "Within that, we have programmed for a new police station for the south, so we thing we can manage no matter what the financial circumstances, unless they are cataclysmic from the Government and then we might have to rethink it," he said.
Mr Wilkinson said he expects to hear in the coming days from the Government about how much funding Wiltshire Police is set to receive.
He insists that he and top officers will endeavour to ensure the current service isn't compromised during the construction of the new facility.
"That's a challenge for the Chief constable and myself, to make sure that we maintain performance consistently while we are building a new police station."
Local impact
The PCC has moved to reassure people living around the new site in Old Sarum that the Force will do everything it can to limit the impact on local life.
He cited objections to noise from those living near Bourne Hill, but insisted that the "blues and twos" won't be switched on in residential areas, unless it is absolutely necessary.
"Everybody wants a police station, but nobody wants a police station close to them," he said. "We will not be switching on Blues and twos and sirens and lights as we as we exit the police station unless it's a matter of life and death."
He has promised that everything will be done in consultation with local people in an effort to minimise inconvenience to them.