Huddersfield and Dewsbury to get new police stations

The new Dewsbury station, on Halifax Road, would have about 290 staff and a custody suite, said police

"Much needed" replacement police stations have been announced for two West Yorkshire towns.

The new stations will be built on the former college site in Dewsbury and in Huddersfield town centre, West Yorkshire Police said.

The existing police stations on Huddersfield's Castlegate and Aldams Road in Dewsbury will remain, but are to be sold once the new ones are built.

The replacement stations are due to be opened in 2024, the force said.

• More stories from Yorkshire

Ch Supt Julie Sykes said: "The [existing] buildings are reaching the end of their operational and economic lives and would be equally, if not more, expensive to rebuild than they would be to replace.

"Both [new] sites were very carefully chosen after years of planning work, and we feel they offer the best locations available to us."

The current Huddersfield police station will be replaced by "much-needed modern day" facilities

A public consultation into the plans for the police station on Halifax Road in Dewsbury is under way and one for the site near Broadway in Huddersfield is to follow, with both builds also subject to planning approval.

Mark Burns Williamson, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, who is responsible for the force's estate, said the "much needed modern day" policing facilities would mean "greater overall efficiencies and longer-term savings".

West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: "This will be a multi-million pound project. Costs are being discussed with contractors and, as a result, this information is commercially sensitive."