The battle against crime is focussing on the community. GILES SHELDRICK finds out how this is being planned by moving the main police station outside the town centre.

POLICE in Swindon are hoping a move away from the town centre will bring them closer to the communities they serve.

A £25m purpose built divisional headquarters the nerve centre for the future policing of the Swindon district will open on land off the A420 by August 2006.

It will be built off the Sainsbury roundabout, on the opposite side of the road, near Gablecross.

And while the bulk of operational staff will be based there, a series of small satellite stations, or so-called "police points" will provide more immediate local policing.

Two of these smaller stations are already operational at the Orbital Retail Park in North Swindon and the West Swindon Centre. Highworth police station will continue with its role.

A new station is planned for South Swindon, probably as part of the Front Garden development, if planning permission is granted later this month.

Currently there are three police stations serving the borough the divisional headquarters in Fleming Way, Westlea, and Highworth. But because of Swindon's growing population and a rethink of the way that the town is policed officers have decreed that smaller is better.

The stations will, in effect, become drop-in centres, all supported by the new headquarters, which will house the entire core policing functions.

Meanwhile, Westlea station will close and the shabby 1960s high-rise Fleming Way HQ will be sold, probably for prime town centre housing stock as part of the town centre's ongoing renaissance.

Another prime motivator behind the move is the horrific nature of town centre traffic congestion.

Swindon police is responsible for patrolling the A419, A420 and a 37-mile stretch of the M4 motorway, so easy access and swift response are key.

Chief Supt Pat Stayt, the man in charge of Swindon's policing, said: "I'm very pleased we have got planning permission because our present facilities in Fleming Way are outdated and are not giving us the flexibility or adaptability we need.

"The building is bursting at the seams, is not helpful for IT purposes and has a lack of parking spaces. It will eventually be sold off.

"There will be a new custody unit exactly the kind of facilities we need for the 21st century. Policing now happens out in the community and that's where our officers will be, based at police points.

"We will have good access at the new site, but the reality is that most responses to incidents don't happen from the police station. It's true that the current divisional headquarters does get snarled up with traffic.

"Some people will see the move as a disadvantage, but most people have got access to transport and the town centre police point will provide everything they need.

"We will have an inquiry office, interview room, meeting facilities and officers will be able to log onto their IT systems and do work from there.

"All in all it's a positive move. It feels like it's been a quite a battle, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity of a better working environment."

Before Christmas Wiltshire Police Authority the body responsible for monitoring the performance of policing in Swindon and across the county signed a Private Finance Initiative deal with private developer Vinci.

The company will build and maintain the headquarters and then lease it back to the force over the next 30 years.

The Wiltshire Ambulance Trust had also planned to share the building with the police in a move away from their outdated Queens Drive headquarters, but have since pulled out of the project on cost grounds.

Swindon mayor and police authority member Derek Benfield (Lab, Covingham and Nythe) said: "This development was planned many years ago and will really mean policing for the 21st century. About 95 per cent of the activity in headquarters is administrative so the new site is going to be of great value.

"The infrastructure that side of town is brilliant. Policing needs to be out there in the community and the satellite stations will provide that and that's got to be a good thing for Joe Public."

Giles Sheldrick