New Chorley Police station confirmed for Runshaw College campus

Runshaw College is selling its Euxton Lane campus to Lancashire Police, with the site to be developed into a new policing base for Chorley’s neighbourhood and response officers.

The former campus will replace the town centre police station in St Thomas's Road which has been deemed ‘not fit for purpose’.

It will also house the town’s CID and other specialist teams, including one of the newly launched Rape and Sexual Offences Teams. There are also plans to use it as a new training academy for the force’s new recruits.

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden said the new base – ‘located on a key part of the strategic road network’ – is well placed for servicing the whole of Chorley.

He also confirmed he is working with Chorley Council to open a small policing hub in the town centre. This will provide a base for officers to quickly respond to reports of anti-social behaviour in town.

The Commissioner said: “I’m delighted to announce the acquisition of the Runshaw College site to invest in a new policing base for the Chorley area and as part of a wider investment in training and development infrastructure for the force.

“The current station no longer meets operational requirements and is in an increasingly poor condition, meaning it is not fit for purpose for a modern, agile, digitally-enabled crime fighting force.

“I am passionate that every borough area should have a dedicated police station – as I know the vast majority of residents want – but to do that comes at the cost of renewing and replacing police stations as they come to the end of their shelf life.

“Following my campaign to end degree only entry into policing, the Home Secretary has recently announced that other entry routes will reopen, a decision both I and the Chief Constable welcome wholeheartedly.

“So not only will the new site serve existing teams, it will also allow us to meet immediate training requirements for new officers joining the re-opened non-degree entry routes, but also make sure Lancashire can train and develop the best officers for our County into the future.

“This will not affect the number of officers deployed to the town centre and we are working closely with Chorley Council to ensure that we also maintain a physical town centre presence, possibly through shared space."

Lancashire Police's Chief Constable Chris Rowley welcomed the decision to move the Chorley force into the former college site.

He said: “Our current police station is no longer fit for purpose and the project, once complete, will give my officers and staff the best possible facilities to deliver outstanding policing services for the people of Chorley and surrounding areas.

“It will also provide a dedicated, modern campus to train our future officers and equip them with the skills they need to fight crime, support victims and keep our communities across Lancashire safe.”

Leader of Chorley Council, Councillor Alistair Bradley, added: “It’s really pleasing to see Lancashire Constabulary investing in our borough and is another show of confidence in our great transport links and skilled workforce.

“Having such a facility located in Chorley will I’m sure help improve response times for residents, and I look forward to working with the constabulary on their plans for the current police station in Chorley town centre.”

Why is Runshaw College selling the site?

Runshaw has been delivering courses for adults and apprentices from its Euxton Lane campus for around 20 years, but in February the college revealed it would be vacating the site.

The college now uses several local community venues for Adult Education courses, including the new Strawberry Fields Digital Hub nearby in Euxton Lane, as well as its main campus in Leyland.

Runshaw College Principal & CEO, Clare Russell, said: "Selling the Euxton Lane campus means that we can invest the proceeds in refurbishment and development projects at the Langdale Road campus, to further improve our facilities and resource them with industry-standard equipment and technology.

"Our new Buttermere building will open in a few weeks and we then have further plans to improve our Health and Science facilities.

"These exciting developments will ensure Runshaw College is well-positioned to meet the needs of the residents of Chorley, South Ribble and the wider Lancashire area well into the future.

"We are pleased that the Euxton Lane building will continue to be used to serve our community, by Lancashire Constabulary.”