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Cotswold BlogThe Cotswold Blog is a collection of diary entries, news, gossip and other Cotswold related information.
New police front counter at Chipping NortonFollowing an agreement between Thames Valley Police and West Oxfordshire District Council, police front counter services in Chipping Norton will soon be moving to a more convenient town centre location, with extended opening hours.West Oxfordshire District Council's Guildhall Reception in the centre of the town will double up as a one-stop shop for police and council services. The agreement follows the announcement made by Thames Valley Police to replace Chipping Norton police station with a more efficient building. Closing and replacing inefficient police stations is part of Thames Valley Police's asset management strategy that is set to save �829k. Saving money on buildings enables them to protect frontline policing from cuts. Cllr Mark Booty, Cabinet Member at West Oxfordshire District Council responsible for Community Safety said, "We fully understand the financial challenges faced by the police, but, we are keen to maintain the valuable front counter police services for Chipping Norton residents. He adds: �This partnership approach at the Guildhall is a win, win solution for everyone. Residents will gain from longer opening hours and our town centre location has easy access with everything on the ground floor.� The move builds on the strong working relationship that already exists between Thames Valley Police and the District Council in areas such as community safety, licensing, enforcement, housing and emergency planning. Thames Valley Police is keen to reassure residents that the availability and visibility of police officers to attend incidents in their areas will be not be affected by these changes. Supt Colin Paine, Commander for West Oxfordshire and Cherwell said, �This is great news for residents of Chipping Norton. They will keep the police front counter and it will be open an extra 15 hours per week, but will not cost the tax payer any more than at present. The service will be in a good central location and offer the opportunity for residents to access council services at the same time. �Obviously in due course the existing Chipping Norton police station will be sold and replaced with a smaller, more efficient building. We have not yet determined where that will be and are still exploring the options available. The police station will not close, the same police officers will be based in the new building and there will be no reduction in the service provided.� Council services will continue to operate as normal from the Guildhall. The additional police counter services provided by West Oxfordshire District Council will include producing driving documents, reporting lost and found property as well as general advice when needed. At present, the Police Station front counter is open from 10am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. The opening hours with the Council providing the service are: Mon to Friday: 8.45am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm (4pm on Friday) Posted : 16/09/2013 20:17:19 PLEASE NOTE: This story has been archived and the information contained within it may no longer be correct.
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