Armed policing museum shuts as charity moves out

The Museum of Armed Policing at Chatteris was visited by the Princess Royal

A museum dedicated to the history of armed policing has closed after the charity that ran it moved out, largely due to ongoing costs.

It opened about five years ago in the old police station in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, and was visited by the Princess Royal.

Mark Williams, chief executive of the Police Firearms Officers Association (PFOA), said it decided to hand back the lease to Cambridgeshire Police, with the site costing "more and more money to maintain".

He said the charity would not reopen a museum at its new headquarters.

Exhibitions at the former museum detailed the use of firearms going back to the 1600s.

It also had a virtual firing range, showing how officers would be tested in real-life situations.

First reported by Cambs News, the PFOA, which also occupied the former police station on East Park Street, decided to close the doors and hand back the keys at the end of February.

The charity has since set up a base at South Fens Business Centre in Fenton Way.

Mark Williams said he could not make the former police station work in the long term

Mr Williams said it took on the old police station under a maintenance lease, which meant it was responsible for its upkeep.

Over about nine years he said about £100,000 was spent on it, which included asbestos removal from the roof and fitting air conditioning.

He said the museum had planning permission to expand upwards and moves were made to purchase the freehold of the site, but due to cost pressures and issues around the maintenance of a nearby radio mast, the decision was made to relocate.

A new premises has been secured by the charity in the town

Mr Williams said he was a "little bit gutted" and "disappointed" the charity could not make the old location work in the longer term, with the museum being "a sideline to help us educate the public about what we do".

He said some of the exhibits were being sent to new homes, but the remaining ones – including documentation – were still being stored safely with "nothing thrown away".

James Haylett, chief executive of the office of the police and crime commissioner for Cambridgeshire, said moves to sell the building to the PFOA stalled after "terms of the sale of the freehold could not be agreed".

"The PFOA operated the break clause in their lease and the building was vacated by them earlier this year," he said.