£3.45m sale of Northants Police HQ finalised by outgoing Police and Crime Commissioner

The outgoing Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner has announced he has officially sold the Wootton Hall police headquarters site to the Education Funding Agency.
Police Headquarters, Wootton HallPolice Headquarters, Wootton Hall
Police Headquarters, Wootton Hall

Adam Simmonds, who finishes his term at midnight tonight, said today he had signed an executive order agreeing to the sale of the police-owned part of the Wootton Hall Park site.

The decision can no longer be reversed by the incoming crime and commissioner, Stephen Mold, who was elected on Friday.

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The land has been sold for £3.45 million and the cost of moving 350 staff to the new site is estimated to be £6.9 million.

The majority of the staff are set to be moved to new buildings, off the A43 near Kettering by September 2017.

A deadline of June 2018 has been set for the transport and garage facilities to be moved and the force control room will have to be located by April 2020.

Speaking on the BBC this morning, Mr Simmonds said: “The decision has been taken to sell Wootton Hall and we no longer own the site, it is in the hands of the Education Funding Agency.

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“On my first day in office I put out a press release saying Northamptonshire Police would be moved off the Wootton Hall site within five years and I’ve achieved that.

“It might be controversial now but in the future, with staff moving into a new building in the north of the county, I think people will look back and say it weas a good decision.”

The Wootton Hall site will be used to house a new school, for pupils aged for four to 19 years old, which will open in a temporary building this September.

Wootton Park School principal Dan Rosser said: “We are all absolutely delighted that the sale of Wootton Hall Park has now been confirmed. Following this significant milestone, the Trust are working closely with the Department for Education to finalise the Funding Agreement which we have been told we can fully expect to receive by the end of next week.

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“Our Funding Agreement will enable us to formalise contracts with the teaching staff we have appointed and begin the procurement of goods and services ready for opening on September 5.”

“We are currently working with contractors on both the temporary and permanent building projects and expect the temporary school accommodation to be completed by mid-July – in plenty of time to welcome our first cohort of learners in the autumn.”