New Durham HQ

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham, Ron Hogg, and Durham Constabulary Chief Constable, Mike Barton, have taken ownership of the keys to the new police headquarters, handed over to them by the construction firm who completed the project, Kier Construction.

The new building, which has been developed on land adjacent to the existing headquarters at Aykley Heads in Durham, is a state-of-the-art facility which will house a communications centre and support functions, along with a range of other departments. It will hold over 600 staff.

The keys were handed over after one final inspection of the facility by Mr Hogg and Mr Barton. Mr Hogg said: “As with any new property purchase, before taking hold of the keys I did one final inspection to make sure everything is perfect, and I’m happy that we have a building of an extremely high standard.”

Mr Barton commented: “The existing building had become a significant drain on resources and the new build will represent a big step forward for us in terms of managing the cost of our estate. “We are delighted that the build schedule for the new headquarters had run so efficiently and expect to be fully relocated by mid-September.’’