Chelmsford Police Station will undergo a £5.7million refurbishment as part of the continued ambitious programme to rationalise and modernise estates owned by Essex Police.

Essex Police and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner are committed to investing in key police stations to ensure they are efficient and fit for the needs of modern policing both now and in the future.

Chelmsford Police Station is one such building to benefit from investment and will be the subject of an extensive refurbishment.

Under the project the station will be modernised and will have open plan working to encourage closer working between the different policing teams based there.

The project will mean that the police station will close for 12-months.

To ensure officers remain visible and at the heart of the community they serve, work is progressing to relocate the Community Policing Team to a shared hub with Chelmsford City Council.

This work is expected to be complete by Spring this year.

Plans are also underway to ensure Essex Police continues to provide a front counter service to the public.

More information on this will be distributed in due course.

Under the plans it is hoped staff will move out of Chelmsford Police Station from early Summer while the work is carried out, with the building reopening during the Winter of 2020/21.

Chelmsford and Maldon District Commander Chief Insp Gerry Parker, said: “We know local and visible policing matters to the people of Chelmsford and that's what my officers want to provide more than ever.

“However Chelmsford police station, like a number of our buildings, is outdated and needs modernising to create a working environment that is fit for the challenges faced by our officers both now and in the future.

“The refurbishment will ensure officers have a better equipped, modern working environment which is open plan, promoting even greater and closer working between our teams.

“The building work will coincide with the exciting move of our Community Policing Team to a shared base with Chelmsford City Council which will keep them central and local and ensure we have an even closer working relationship with our local authority partners.

“Most importantly this investment into the city’s police station demonstrates our commitment to keeping our community here in Chelmsford safe.

“We will continue to keep you, our public, up to date as our plans continue to develop to ensure people always know where they can find us.”

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst, said: “This refurbishment is part of my extensive modernisation programme for the force’s ageing estate and it represents a significant investment in policing in the city of Chelmsford.

“Transforming old buildings which are expensive to run and ill-equipped for the needs of modern policing is key to providing officers with the means to do their jobs most effectively and serve their local communities well.

“I commend Chief Inspector Parker and his team for their robust ‘business as usual’ approach while the work is being carried out and for their continued engagement with the public to keep them updated.”

Alternative arrangements will also be made to provide custody facilities for the area.

Essex Police is holding a public meeting about the refurbishment project on Wednesday March 27.

The meeting will take place from 6pm until 8pm at the Central Baptist Church on Victoria Road South, Chelmsford.