THE Standard was given an exclusive tour around the new police base at the offices of Maldon District Council on Monday.

The new base has been operating since July 31, but was officially opened by a visit from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex Roger Hirst, Essex Police Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh, and Maldon district commander Ronnie Egan on Monday.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

Here are the key pieces of information about the new base:

  • It has 24 full time of police employees, including police officers and counter staff, who will offer a front counter service for anyone with queries
  • It also acts as a base for officers working on patch in Maldon to report back and directly deal with residents coming in with any issues
  • The new centre is based right next to council services, the Job Centre, and Maldon Citizens’ Advice
  • The centre will operate from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on Fridays
  • Maldon’s old police station, on West Square, has closed down, and is due to be put up for sale
  • The new centre is part of an initiative by the police to reduce the number of buildings of their estate from 80 to 30
  • The estate in Essex costs £10 million a year in running costs, the existing buildings would have required £30 million of maintenance work to bring them up to standard

At the opening, Stephen Kavanagh said: “I would like to thank everyone that helped contributed to this move, it has been a long process but I am very confident that the new base will greatly benefit the residents of Maldon.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

“There are certain ways to do policing, but I very much feel like this is a modern way to do it.

“It is a great sign of our shared commitment to community safety that Maldon District Council has helped make today happen.

“I grew up in Tolleshunt D’Arcy, so I know the area and the type of policing it needs. We do not want to see the policing disappear from Maldon, it is a very important place and we are never going away.

“I promise myself and my officers will do the very best to ensure Maldon is as safe as possible.”

PCC Roger Hirst said: “This base has brand new materials and resources and provides a solid and functional base for officers. The existing buildings contained damp and mould and were not fit for officers to serve in.

“By having this newly functional base integrated with council services, it allows officers to better themselves and their work and get integrated more with the residents to provide the visual policing that the district very much needs.”