DEEP SURPRISE AS WORK STARTS ON BILSTON’S NEW POLICE STATION

Bilston's impressive state-of-the-art replacement for West Midlands Police’s second oldest police station will have its own surprise special feature, which will be kept strictly under concrete wraps.

Midlands company Greswolde Construction uncovered a 3 metre by 25 metre mine shaft during work to stablise the ground for the new building, the eagerly-awaited successor to the town’s 170 year-old station.

“We knew this was a coal mining area, and our drilling experts were on site to grout the coal seams, but the shaft was quite a surprise,” reports Greswolde’s Site Manager Dave Jenkins, whose team had to secure and cap the hole before resuming work.

The new purpose built sector station will be delivered by West Midlands Police Property Services in conjunction with Brierley Hill based Jennings Homer & Lynch architect Roy Pugh.

“The new sector station faces the War Memorial on its public entrance side and the main Black Country route on another, so we have given it two front elevations,” explains Roy, who has reflected Bilston’s historic red brick style, married with modern render, powder coated steel cladding panels, windows and doors and full length aluminum louvres.

“The three storey building is stepped back to allow natural through-ventilation as part of the requirements for the BREEAM rating.”

The £1.8 million project will be one of the West Midlands Police buildings with the BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) green specs appeal, applauding best practice in sustainable building. Greswolde’s recent £2.3m project for Keele University achieved an ‘excellent’ rating.

Architect Roy has also added a stylish steel bridge, to link the upper level public entrance to the sector station.

Built in 1840, when PCs were on 17 shillings (70p) a week, the original station is a listed building that does not allow best use of space.

“It no longer meets modern policing requirements and the new site will be more central as the regeneration of the area unfolds and Bilston urban village shifts the focal point of the town, making the new station more accessible to the public,” comments a spokesperson from West Midlands Police, which will sell the old building after the new one is completed in the autumn.

“The site is quite a tight one, given its busy location and high interaction with the public, which means that all site deliveries have to be carefully controlled and roads kept free of debris,” adds Greswolde MD Malcolm Priest, whose company operates a Good Neighbour Policy.

“We are delighted to be working on such an interesting project that will serve the local community.”