Tendring: Demolition for new police station in Dovercourt underway

From Monday 27 January, we will see the demolition of the former fire station commander’s house at the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) site in Fronks Road.

The demolition is in preparation for a new purpose-built, standalone, two-storey police station to be constructed later this year, which is only 1.5 miles from our current police station in Harwich.

The planning application for the new police station was approved in October 2023. The police station will be an operational policing base for our officers with no public front counter.

Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Nolan said:

“Harwich Police Station was built in 1914, so our officers and staff working there are due a fit for purpose police station which meets the needs of the 21st century and which will be much more cost effective in the long term.
“Thanks to our teams and partners, crime has fallen by 8.2% and anti-social behaviour by 10% in the latest year-on-year figures for Harwich. The new police station situated on the same site as Essex County Fire and Rescue Service means we can continue to work closer together to keep our communities safe and drive down crime.”

Karl Edwards, Director of Corporate Services at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“This project marks an exciting milestone as we continue collaborative working between Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Essex Police.
"It will be our Service’s first collaborative site with Essex Police, providing a modern and efficient base for police officers while fostering stronger working relationships between our teams. By working more closely together, we can enhance our efforts to keep communities safe and deliver the best possible service to the public.”

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said:

“I’m very pleased work on a new Essex Police base in Harwich is underway, on the same site as an Essex County Fire and Rescue Service station.
“It’s taken a lot of hard work from all partners to get to this crucial point which encapsulates closer future collaboration between both services and long-term investment, working together to drive improvement and create safe, secure communities.”

In addition to the accessibility and visibility of our officers, we have worked hard to make ourselves more available to the public.

We continue to:

• Operate a number of police stations across the county which are open to the public;
• Have a digital 101 service on our website for people to report crime as well as a Live Chat function.
• Routinely hold and attend meetings with our communities in addition to engaging with them when we are out and about.

We have also created our e-newsletter called Dispatch which gives people regular weekly updates about how we have secured justice and continue to protect you, our public. You can also subscribe to your local Dispatch e-newsletter for Tendring.