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This is all rather encouraging: our fine Mr Mayor, Brian Sinclair, is making all the right noises about finding a future public use for the soon to be vacated Wivenhoe Police Station.

Speaking to the Gazette about the imminent move of PC Mick Bond, PSCO Louise Neville and Sgt Lou Middleton to (probably) Wivenhoe Fire Station, Mayor Sinclair has stated:

“If the police station is to be disposed of, Wivenhoe Town Council will be doing all it can to see if it can purchase it. It sits between the community hall and our offices and it would be a great pity if such a focal point in Wivenhoe was sold for development.”

With the William Loveless Hall built to suit a community that has now clearly outgrown the size of the community hall, many in the town are of the opinion that the opportunity to keep the police station in public use should be seized. Mayor Sinclair is in agreement:

“Wivenhoe is growing and there may be a need in the future to expand the community centre. The most important thing at this stage is to ensure any future expansion of Wivenhoe Town Council facilities is not lost to development.”

Hurrah!

The Town Council currently rents the offices from Colchester Borough Council. Wivenhoe Town Council owns the Loveless Hall. One would hope that a friendly local authority deal to benefit the community, and not private capital, could be arranged.

Wivenhoe police station is penciled in to close in March. Our three officers are expected to move to the fire station, following the pattern of the Tiptree experiment. Drop in sessions at Wivenhoe Library have also been mentioned as a possibility.

Added into the excitement (seriously) is the election of a new Wivenhoe Town Council this May…