Hampshire Constabulary pour £1.5m into clearing maintenance backlog at police buildings

Hampshire’s crime commissioner has allocated the extra £1.5m on top of £1.553m already allocated for planned work.

Earlier this year Hampshire Police Federation raised concerns about problems at stations – including at Portsmouth Central where the heating was stuck on in 26C heat.

Budget documents show Hampshire Constabulary and the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner had a £6.7m underspend in the 2020/21 financial year.

Some of this cash – £1.5m – is being spent on ‘works to address backlog maintenance’.

Another £600,000 is being spent on a formerly leased building for the force's workshop at 1630 Parkway, Whiteley.

A spokeswoman for crime commissioner Donna Jones said: ‘The OPCC became aware of the opportunity to acquire the building when the owner decided to offer the property for sale; the financial appraisal comparing being a leaseholder to acquisition and ownership was compelling in terms of ownership, hence the decision to acquire.’

She added: ‘The additional £1.5m set aside for estate maintenance recognises that with such a large police estate, there is always a pressure on the maintenance spend; this additional funding will supplement the annual budget enabling additional works to be funded.’