New Dewsbury Police Station Welcome to this virtual exhibition of proposals for a new police station at Halifax Road, Dewsbury. This early consultation will give you the opportunity to understand, ask questions and comment upon the proposals, prior to the submission of a planning application. West Yorkshire Police (WYP) is seeking to provide two new 21st century police stations in Kirklees, as part of a significant investment in keeping communities safe within the district. This milestone investment will see a new police station in both Dewsbury and Huddersfield. The existing police stations on Castlegate in Huddersfield, and Aldams Road in Dewsbury, will remain in full use while the new stations are built. The sites will then be sold once staff and officers have relocated. Both projects are subject to successful planning approvals. This consultation relates to the Dewsbury station. A separate consultation exercise on the Huddersfield station proposals will take place at a later date. The Dewsbury site The former Kirklees College site on Halifax Road, Dewsbury The site has recently been vacated by Kirklees College, as part has been identified as a suitable site for the proposed facility. of their relocation to new premises within and on the edge of Over many years, an extensive site search of over 30 locations Dewsbury town centre. The site includes a number of buildings across the district have been assessed, taking account of the from the 1960 / 70s as well as the Oldroyd Building, located at forces specific operational requirements and opportunities, and the corner of Halifax Road and Carlton Road, which formed part constraints presented by available sites. of the original Batley and District New Technical, Science and Art School, dating from 1893. The proposed site is located approximately half a mile north of Dewsbury town centre. It enjoys strong transport links, The site also includes surface car parking on Pyrah Street to the being located between the A638 Halifax Road and the A652 rear of the site. The proposals offer the opportunity to secure a Bradford Road, and the location ensures that the new facility is long term active use for this otherwise vacant site. operationally resilient, with improved access to the communities which the facility will serve. New Dewsbury Police Station Site Context Planning policy context Topography The site is not allocated for a specific use in the recently adopted The site slopes steeply from west to east with significant Kirklees Local Plan, which is the document applied by the views out to the east and wider views into the site. The Council in determining planning applications within the district. new development must work with these levels to provide an The original element of the Oldroyd Building is located within the appropriate design for the area. Northfields Conservation Area, although the remainder of the site is located outside of this designation. The Oldroyd Building is Access not listed, although it is noted that the municipal buildings to the The existing site access points from Carlton Road (via a restricted south of the site beyond Carlton Road are Grade II listed. access route) and Stonefield Street will be utilised, as will the car park on Pyrah Street. A separate pedestrian access and, The site provides a number of opportunities and constraints potentially, a limited accessible parking area will be provided for which have been taken into consideration in developing the visitors from Halifax Road. The topography of the site adjacent to proposals for the new station. These include: Pyrah Street prevents any new access being created on this side of the site. Neighbouring uses Whilst Halifax Road is an arterial route into and out of Dewsbury, Trees we are aware that this is also a residential area and the proposals There are existing self seeded trees and scrubland to the rear must respond to the position and amenity requirements of of the site at Pyrah Street, which offer the opportunity for existing homes. The proposals include use of the existing replacement and enhancement. There are also several large access points on Stonefield Street and Carlton Road to provide trees in the corner of the site, adjacent to the bus stop on Halifax connections from the vehicle parking proposed within the site, Road. These trees are capable of retention, subject to ensuring Halifax Road and Bradford Road. There is also the opportunity adequate root protection areas can be provided. The smaller to improve the Pyrah Street area of the site through landscaping trees in the landscaped area adjacent to the Oldroyd Building are treatments. protected due to their location within the Conservation Area, and the proposed landscaping scheme will take this into account. Existing and Oldroyd Building The redevelopment of the site does offer the opportunity to Noise remove very large and unsympathetically designed modern The adjacent A638 Halifax Road is the main noise source in buildings and to provide replacement development of a reduced the area due to heavy traffic flows. Proposals will consider scale and massing. Our proposal retains the Oldroyd building, the implications of construction noise, from the development, which is of an attractive character and preserves the heritage of on neighbouring uses and also noise generated during the the area. operational phase of the station. New Dewsbury Police Station Site Context Oldroyd crest from Halifax Road (to be retained) Car park off Stonefield Street (to be demolished) Oldroyd building from Halifax Road (to be retained) Site from Stonefield Street (to be demolished) Warehouses (to be demolished) Oldroyd Building (right) Site adjoining Stonefield Street Rear of Oldroyd Building from Halifax Road Boundary of Conservation Area Aerial view of site New Dewsbury Police Station Emerging Design The proposed new police station will house both Dewsbury Patrol, neighbourhood policing teams and the public help desk facility which are currently located at Dewsbury Police Station, along with all district investigative teams, support staff and the district’s custody suite. The newly built public help desk facility will provide face to face support for members of the public, as well as community accessible meeting rooms for enhanced engagement. The new police station will be a 24 hour, 7 days a week, operational police station and will accommodate just over 600 staff with 290 officers and staff working Monday to Friday, reducing to around 130 on weekends. The new police station enables co location of investigative teams, increasing resilience and improving positive and timely outcomes for victims, with the nearby residents and wider community benefiting from a deterrent against anti social behaviour and crime. The facility will have significantly enhanced technological infrastructure, increasing capacity to undertake on line investigations, providing a flexible innovative working environment for West Yorkshire Police and partners from across Kirklees. The construction of the facility will support and create opportunities for local trade persons, suppliers, apprenticeships and work experience, through an agreement between West Yorkshire Police and Willmott Dixon. External material palette and precedents New Dewsbury Police Station Emerging Design Existing massing 2 A638 / Halifax Road 1 2 Carlton Road 3 Pyrah Street 3 Key 1 Oldroyd Building 2 Kirklees college buildings 3 Car parking Proposed Massing 4 A638 / Halifax Road 2 1 3 Carlton Road 4 Pyrah Street 3 Key 1 Oldroyd Building 2 Custody 3 Car parking 4 Ancillary New Dewsbury Police Station Next Steps Once this public consultation has concluded, it is our intention to formally submit a planning application in relation to the proposals in April 2021. Subject to the approval of the planning application, it is currently projected that the development will be completed and the police station operational in 2024. Seeking planning permission 1. A formal planning application will be submitted to Kirklees Council and the Council will set a target determination date to make a decision on the application. 2. Local residents will be invited by the Council to review the planning application and make any further comments, including supporting or objecting to the proposals. 3. Once the application has been fully considered and all statutory consultees (design, highways, drainage and other council officers and stakeholders) have provided responses and required amendments have been made, the application will be presented to Planning Committee to be decided, informed by an officers report on the proposals. Your comments West Yorkshire Police and the project team welcome your comments which can be provided to us via email at [email protected], marking your email ‘Kirklees College site’. We will seek to review all responses received in order to review the proposals where necessary. If you are aware of individuals who may like to comment or obtain further details on the proposal but do not have access to the internet, please write to us at Nineteen47, Acero, 1 Concourse Way, Sheffield, S1 2BJ. The project team will also be hosting an interactive question and answer session online via the Zoom platform on Wednesday 17th March from 16:00-18:00. Should you wish to attend this event, please email [email protected], marking your email ‘Kirklees College site’ to register to receive an invitation for this event. Elevation D from Carlton Road Elevation C from Stonefield Street.