Dorset Police HQ: Cost of new building 'commercially sensitive'

The cost of the new building will come out of a capital budget

A police force has said it is unable to reveal the cost of its new headquarters building.

Work will start on Dorset Police's Winfrith HQ this summer and is due for completion by 2023/24.

Concerns were raised that birds could fly into its reflective surfaces but Dorset Council approved the plans on 8 March.

The force said the costs were currently "subject to an ongoing process which is commercially sensitive".

It added it was working to establish the final bill now planning permission had been granted.

"I find it rather odd," said Councillor Peter Wharf, of Dorset Council, of the force's refusal to reveal the projected costs.

"Any building project we undertake, we have to go through the scrutiny process, reviewing cost estimates to make sure it ticks the right boxes."

The existing three-storey building is not fit for purpose, Dorset Police said

However, the force said the cost of the new building, which will come out of a capital budget, will be more cost-effective in the long-term.

In a statement, it said: "[The cost] is subject to an ongoing process which is commercially sensitive.

"Therefore we are not in a position to reveal indicative costs at this stage."

Wool Parish Council had voiced concerns about the design of the building and that migrating house martins and swifts might confuse the reflective surfaces for open countryside.

The current 1950s building will be replaced with a triangular-shaped, three-storey building with central stairwells and a cafe.

Architects Corstophine & Wright said the new building would "provide space that is both flexible and suitable for modern-day policing requirements".

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick has been approached for comment.