Sod cut at Middlemoor

Groundbreaking ceremony for new cop shop

Exeter's getting a new £29 million police custody suite that will have the highest standards of care for up to 40 prisoners. It's being built alongside Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's existing HQ at Middlemoor, and will be a new base for up to 450 officers, including staff at Heavitree Road, which is well past its best.

On Tuesday, senior officers reflected how they were "fond" of Heavitree Road, but the 1950s facility means that detention officers work in basements without natural light, and conditions for prisoners are less ideal. The architect designing the new custody suite has considered all aspects of detention, which can be stressful to the point of dangerous at times. Most internal walls will be rounded, for example, to reduce the risk of people harming themselves. 

The project is largely funded by the sale of police land. Police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez says it will be "exceptional". She's defended the closure of police station front desks - which she claims is an operational decision made by the chief constable - whilst spending money on expensive new facilities in Exeter and Liskeard.

Ms Hernandez has previously said that fewer people now come to police stations, instead interacting online or by phone, but that she understands the emotional connection people have with being able to get to see police officers. 

“The Police Federation has been involved every step of the way," she says, "and it’s only right that officers have been able to shape this fantastic facility. The new station will provide a modern and spacious working environment for those on the front line – one that is thoroughly deserved, and a public area that is a vast improvement on the desk at Heavitree Road."

Speaking to Radio Exe at the ceremony, Ms Hernandez said: "The money for this investment is capital funding that doesn't come out of the day-to-day funding of police in Devon and Cornwall.

"We are coming through a very difficult period for all public services, and Shaun Sawyer [the chief constable] and I are committed to putting as many officers back in service as we can, and we're already moving beyond the 3,000 figure. But officers need a decent place to work, and Heavitree Road, quite frankly, isn't."

Contractor Willmott Dixon is experienced in custody suites and works with ex-offenders as part of its community investment programme. Ms Hernandez says this was central to the decision to award the company the contract. Willmott Dixon director Rob Woolcock says its a flagship project "that will bring state-of-the-art facilities for Devon and Cornwall Police."

Exeter's top cop Superintendent Sam de Reya and the prime and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez performed the cermony before the diggers move onto the site for an 18-month building programme.