Gosport police station will no longer be sold and could be used for training, says Hampshire police and crime commissioner

Hampshire Constabulary had made an estimated £48m by selling off police stations across the county, including in Gosport.

Now, five years after it went on the market, police and crime commissioner Donna Jones has said the South Street building will not be sold.

Speaking at a recent police and crime panel meeting in Winchester, she said: 'The police station was agreed for sale subject to planning approval in June 2017.

'The person that was buying it is now out of contract, despite an extension and some leniency on behalf of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

'This was something I inherited, it wasn't a sale agreed by me.'

The police station was set to be transformed into a 10-storey tower block by JP Developments, with 140 homes.

As a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, developers hoped it would kickstart a period of regeneration and development around the town's high street.

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Currently, the town's neighbourhood policing team operates out of Gosport Town Hall, with 999 responders now based at Fareham Reach, in Fareham Road.

Now, Mrs Jones is contemplating the future of the police station - including using it as a training facility for new police officers.

She said: 'I have reviewed the contract and noted the agreement - that will remain in place but I am considering other options.

'I will bring a plan back to the police and crime panel in due course, but we certainly have many options for that building.'