Essex Police is going to build a new station in Dovercourt

Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst applied to Tendring Council for permission to build a new police station in the town in May, and the application has now been approved.

The planning permission granted on October 17 will see a two-storey building built in Fronks Road.

Before the building work can begin, it is required that the former fire station commander’s house at the site is demolished.

The building would sit on a raised grass area next to the town’s existing fire station.

Exciting - This is a plan for the two-storey police station (Image: Tendring District Council)

Close - The new building will be in close proximity to Dovercourt Fire Station (pictured) (Image: N/A)

It will also feature a blue police lantern on the front of the building, 11 parking spaces for officers and securing weldmesh fencing around the boundaries of the building and its carpark gate.

The building will be home to around 45 Dovercourt police officers.

As part of the plans Essex Police will need to provide a drawing plan showing that vehicles leaving the building can be seen by other road users.

Boss - Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst (Image: Essex Police)

Other stipulations include that the building’s drive must be a width of 5.5m and 6m from the edge of the nearest carriageway. This is to ensure vehicles can enter and leave the site safely.

This development comes after Essex Police revealed that the new station plan has been in the works for several years because the current police station in Dovercourt is “no longer best suited to the way officers work today and will do in the future".

Chief Inspector Ella Latham, District Commander for Tendring, said: “The new police station at Dovercourt will create a modern, fit for purpose emergency services facility for our teams in Harwich.

“The most important thing for our communities to know is that our policing presence in Harwich and Dovercourt won’t change. We’ll still be here maintaining our strong, visible and accessible presence.

“You’ll see our Local Policing Team and Community Policing Team and our Police Community Support Officers continuing to keep your communities safe, protecting people from harm and working with our partners to prevent and detect crime.

“You can come and chat to our friendly officers at our events taking place in Tendring about your concerns and for advice. Once the new police station is built, we hope that it will create engagement opportunities, in collaboration with our partners, for our communities to benefit from.”