Commissioner speaks out about Bakewell Police Station

Former PC Sandra Wetton, of Bakewell, handed in a petition to Derbyshire’s police and crime commissioner Alan Charles at a neighbourhood watch meeting last Thursday after hearing rumours that the police station, in Granby Road, could close within the next month and all its staff transferred to Matlock Police Station.

“I’ve got just under 2,000 signatures on the petition,” she said.

Sandra explained that Bakewell is the last remaining police station in the Peak District National Park, and if it goes there will be no cover in the area when police officers change shifts.

“This area is not going to have cover for the majority of the time and they can’t deny that really,” she added.

“The officers will come on at Matlock but they have got paperwork to do and emails to check.

“Word will soon get around when that police station isn’t there any more and Bakewell will become a shoplifters paradise.”

Alan Charles said: “As we have said before, any decisions regarding the police estate will be taken at the culmination of the Priority Based Budget Review, when the chief constable will have the appropriate information to enable him to make some tough decisions, necessitated by the ongoing Government cuts to the police budget.

“The senior officers in charge of policing the Derbyshire Dales made an operational decision to coordinate all the reactive resources to operate from Matlock. This is to improve the deployment and supervision of those staff who were working at Matlock, Ashbourne and Bakewell.

“The Safer Neighbourhood teams will continue to be based within Ashbourne and Bakewell.

“The change is designed to improve the response to the whole of the Derbyshire Dales district and it is important that local residents recognise that officers will still be available to respond to calls for service. These changes are operational policing decisions designed to increase resilience and enhance the service delivered.”