Budget cuts have led to the closure of 18 police stations or bases in Cumbria in just over five years.

It can be revealed today how cash constraints are taking their toll on a major part of the public face of law and order - with fears raised over the impact on tackling trouble in some of the places affected.

Since 2011, law-keeping outposts that stood for generations have vanished from towns and communities.

Police chiefs blame cuts for them having to make the tough decision between keeping bricks and mortar - or officers to fight crime.

A number of other smaller community bases have opened in some cases in places such as community centres or portable cabins - but figures show the overall number of stations has dropped.

Our special report shows some influential figures and community leaders believe vanishing stations have fuelled problems in those areas, contributing to low level anti-social behaviour.

But those leading the force say they have to cut their cloth according to the cash available - and older traditional buildings eat up money.

Among the stations to close include the base in Carlisle's Civic Centre, the satellite station in the city's Welsh Road and Wigton station.

In west Cumbria, a number of sizeable towns, including Maryport, Egremont and Cleator Moor, have seen stations close.

Carlisle's former MP Eric Martlew is a staunch critic of the move to close the Civic Centre base.

While he was MP, officers from Cumbria Police moved from a headquarters on Rickergate to a number of temporary bases following the floods that struck Carlisle in 2005.

They then moved to the new state-of-the-art station on the Durranhill industrial estate.

Some officers remained in the middle of the city, operating from the Civic
Carlisle Civic Centre Centre.

However, this set-up was brought to an end in October 2015 due to budget cuts.

Plans have been raised recently to relocate officers back into this building alongside staff from other public agencies.

But Mr Martlew believes it should never have been closed due to the physical police presence it provided.

He said: "When you open a police station there is obviously a purpose for it and reassurance is given.

"When the first floods happened the police station in Carlisle was flooded so they decided to build a new one away from the city centre.

"And then they got a base at the Civic Centre, which has now gone.

"I think that's wrong for a number of reasons.

"The city centre gets lots of visitors, there are lots of people and lots of shops which attract criminals.

"It worries me about the thought processes of senior people in charge.

"People need to see a police presence in the city centre. They need to feel safe."

He added: "As for the station which closed on Welsh Road, there was obviously a reason for putting it there in the first place.

"And if you were to ask me if that reason had gone away then I would suspect not."

Cash cuts have cast a major shadow over policing in the last decade, with successive police chiefs having to look at ways to balance the books.

Cumbria's chief constable, Jerry Graham, said: “Over the past seven years the constabulary has reluctantly closed a number of police stations across the county.

"These decisions have not been made lightly as we recognise the reassuring presence a police station has for members of the public.

“Ultimately the decision to close stations has enabled us to retain frontline officers and staff."

He said the force had invested cash in technology, which had "enabled flexibility in where officers and staff can work from".

Mr Graham added: "The benefit of this is that officers can spend much more time working in the communities they serve."

Cumbria's crime commissioner, Peter McCall, said where police stations had shut, there was often a police desk - a drop-in event - held in somewhere like a supermarket or library.

He added: "While it is understandable that local communities feel a sense of loss when a police station closes, the reality is that maintaining older buildings not only does not meet the needs of modern policing, but they also consume scarce cash resources which potentially reduces officer numbers."


Gone: Stations that have shut

* Alston;

* St James School, Barrow;

* Dalton Road community base in the south of the county;

* Dalton in Furness;

* Carlisle Civic Centre;

* Cleator Moor;

* Egremont;

* Grange over Sands;

* Maryport;

* Millom;

* Milnthorpe;

* Keswick;

* Sedbergh;

* Sedbergh Fire Station;

* St Michael's School, Dalston, near Carlisle;

* Ulverston;

* Welsh Road, Carlisle;

* Wigton.

New community bases were launched in Alston, Drill Hall, Dalton, the Network Centre at Millom, Milnthorpe, the Town Hall at Keswick, Sedbergh and Wigton.

These bases are in locations such as tourist information centres, a community portable cabin and community sites.


The wave of closures were announced late in 2011, with the force at the time saying a formula of selling some stations but opening other smaller community bases was the best it could offer in hard-up times.

The constabulary was forced to examine its set-up because budget cuts meant it would have to tighten its belt to the tune of millions of pounds.

Now though, more than five years into the programme, the results show how the outward appearance of the force has changed.

Wigton is one of the towns where the police station closed. There is now a set up in the town's Local Links centre.

In the town, the view has been raised that anti-social behaviour problems suffered there would not be as prevalent if it hadn't have lost the police station that stood for years.

That's the opinion of Wigton mayor Mike Bryceson, who says that people will naturally exploit any perceived lack of police presence in the town.

Wigton's station officially closed in September 2014 but had been used sparingly in the proceeding years.

In recent months there has been a high-profile problem with low-level crime and anti-social behaviour in the town, with many residents and leaders believing the lack of this type of police presence has contributed to the problems.

However, there has been a crackdown recently and more officers have been deployed to the town as part of ongoing efforts to sort out the issues.

Mr Bryceson said: "We have got this problem with anti-social behaviour going on at the moment.

"The few police that do have a presence in the town do a fantastic job but it's like working with your hands tied behind your back.

"Because there's so few of them people take advantage. It makes their job so much harder.

"It's inevitable the less police the more trouble there will be."

He added: "[If we still had the police station] the trouble might still exist but not to the same extent."

The old police station site, in Station Road, is set to be turned into housing.

Carlisle-based Swarbrick Associates has lodged an application with Allerdale Council to transform the site into six two-bedroom apartments.

A previous scheme for five flats and two houses was scrapped.

Cyril Weber, a Cumbria county councillor for Harraby North in Carlisle, stressed the popularity of community policing.

He also explained the benefits felt when residents had the satellite station in Harraby.

"When we had a police station on Welsh Road everyone felt that little bit safer as community policing is what everyone wants," he said.

"Obviously that shut but we got a new police station at Durranhill which for us here in Harraby is not too far away."

Police chiefs stressed when the wave of closures was announced that they would be keeping officers in the community.

The force believed that the review into its assets would save about £119,000 a year in running costs.

Officers added the way people used stations had changed and visitor numbers were in decline, while technology allowed police to do more while out and about.

At the time the idea of selling off police stations was announced, some community leaders voiced their disappointment.

But the force said it was a “small number of buildings” that were “under-occupied and under-used”.

The process of station sell-off was brought in before Peter McCall, Cumbria's crime commissioner, was elected.

But he explained the thinking behind the scheme, known as the estates strategy.

Mr McCall said: "The estates strategy, which is reviewed and agreed periodically and published on our website, takes account of which police stations would bring a revenue saving covering maintenance, as well as the number of visitors to the station.

"However, the overriding consideration in the estates strategy is the needs of operational policing of the county as determined by the chief constable."

He said the force was transforming workplaces "to complement innovative and transparent working methods, focused around technology, openness and communication".

Historic buildings are not conducive to the flexible working methods now employed, added Mr McCall.

He said: "In many cases the buildings are not fit for purpose.

"They are often now too small, lack core facilities and struggle to keep pace with modern policing.

"Older buildings are also expensive to maintain and run and have a high backlog and future projected maintenance liabilities."

Mr McCall added the buildings set-up played a key role as needs changed and new working methods were introduced.

"The business is moving towards a mobile workforce model and the traditional approach of providing a desk with fixed computer is not always needed," he added.

"The approach for policing must be to have as many officers on our streets rather than in police stations.

"To enable this, mobile devices and technology are continually being developed.

"Where police stations are no longer open, there is very often a regular police desk held in that community, for instance in a local supermarket or library, such as Booths in Windermere, the library in Alston and the Co-op in Dalston.

"In addition, some communities have a base where people can drop in if they need to speak to an officer.

"For instance, the Drill Hall in Dalton in Furness, Town Hall in Keswick and Network Centre in Millom."