Surrey Police forced to rethink move to new base

Surrey Police says its HQ in Mount Browne in Guildford is outdated and expensive to run

Surrey Police has been forced to rethink whether to move its headquarters.

The force has been at its current base, Mount Browne in Guildford, since 1949, but it is deemed to be "inefficient" and "not fit for purpose".

Police chiefs had planned to move to a site in Leatherhead due to its central location and good transport links.

But now that move has been thrown into doubt.

It is because the residential site in Leatherhead is said to be unsuitable for keeping undercover officers anonymous or for housing the force's "cutting-edge" dog school, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp, speaking to Surrey's police and crime panel on Wednesday, said the cost and impact of these two issues were "not fully known" when the project began five years ago.

Not a white elephant

Surrey Police bought the 10-acre Leatherhead site at Cleeve Road for £20.5m in 2018.

DCC Kemp said it was "far from being a white elephant" as the land had "almost certainly increased in value since we bought it".

One option considered in June was to look for an alternative site in Surrey but that was later discounted as no other suitable sites emerged.

The remaining options now include going ahead with the move to Leatherhead or staying put at Mount Browne and redeveloping it.

But Mount Browne is said to be "tremendously expensive to maintain" and its control room is currently split into two, the meeting was told.

Police and crime panel member councillor Mick Gillman, of Tandridge District Council, said keeping Mount Browne operational while undergoing major refurbishment would also present "tremendous challenges".

A decision on the new headquarters could be made in November.

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