Police and district councillors are discussing the future of Cirencester police station as part of a plan which will also look at the possibility of a new shopping development, and a multi-story car park.

Officers from Cotswold District Council are engaged in preliminary discussions with Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) to decide the future of Cirencester's police station and magistrates court.

The police completed the purchase of the magistrates courts building in the town last September and now own a sizeable site, which incorporates their current station.

Cotswold District Council owns the adjacent Forum car park and has entered into a formal agreement with the PCC to explore whether they should jointly put their properties up for sale.

To help make the decision the two bodies have appointed consultants – Carter Jonas and BNP Paribas Real Estate - to carry out valuation work so that both parties can review options for proposed redevelopment.

As part of the consultants work they will consider policies set out as part of the Cirencester's local plan, they will also approach developers to see if they would potentially be interested in the site.

Both parties will then need to consider the replacement of the existing police station, either as part of the redevelopment, or elsewhere in the town.

Commenting on the agreement with the PCC, CDC leader Cllr Mark Annett said: “It makes sense for us to come together with the PCC to investigate whether there is potential to market a large site within the heart of Cirencester rather than do this separately on a piecemeal basis.

"This could feasibly create opportunities for developments encompassing modern retail space, as well as a range of evening and leisure uses to complement existing provision.

"We also need to consider other appropriate town centre uses in line with the emerging local plan provisions for the town centre.

“There are many issues to resolve during these exploratory discussions, and we are mindful of the priorities for each side.

"From our perspective, one of our biggest challenges would be finding car parking spaces elsewhere if the Forum car park was redeveloped, we are already proposing to erect a multi-storey facility at the Waterloo site, subject to planning permission and council sign off on the business case, but may also need to look for other alternatives”

Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl said: “Above all, the Chief Constable and I remain fully committed to a strong police presence in Cirencester, and this includes a fit for purpose police station.

"Securing the former magistrates’ court, when it became available, meant that in the short term we could secure the operational integrity of the police station while maximising the potential for redeveloping the site.

“To that end, I have agreed in principle with the district council that I will release the site for re-development once I have managed to secure an alternative location for the police station.

"My preferred option would be turning the fire station into a joint police and fire facility, if that’s not possible, I will ask the district council to include plans for a purpose-built station as part of their scheme for re-development”.

Anyone interested in the opportunities afforded by this joint initiative should contact James.Latham@carterjonas.co.uk or daniel.parry-jones@realestate.bnpparibas.