STOURBRIDGE is set to see 60 police officers move into a new town centre police base later this year, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster has announced today (Thursday March 21).

The plan will return neighbourhood and response officers to Stourbridge town centre on a permanent basis following the closure of the original Victorian police station on New Road in 2017.

The new site, which has not yet been revealed, will be home to the Stourbridge and Lye neighbourhood policing teams and Dudley response officers who will all relocate three miles south from Brierley Hill Police Station.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “This is welcome news for the community of Stourbridge.

“People, families, businesses and the local community will feel reassured as I continue to deliver on my pledge to rebuild community policing.

“I am pleased that we are able to announce a new 60-officer police building in Stourbridge town centre. This investment will ensure a police estate that is fit for the 21st century.

“The plan places significant importance on community policing and police officers here in the West Midlands, working in local communities to prevent, tackle and reduce crime, to keep people, families, businesses and the local community safe and secure.

“Local officers having a dedicated base, especially in a busy town centre, is important because it provides a reassuring – and visible – police presence for communities.”

It has not been confirmed precisely when police will move back into town, but it’s expected it will be operational by the autumn.

And the location will be revealed as soon as contracts have been finalised, the PCC’s office confirmed.

Chief Superintendent Anthony Tagg, Dudley Local Police Area Commander, described the plan to bring a new police base to Stourbridge as “great news for our people and those we serve”.

He added: "It delivers on the promise we made them when we closed the old station – that we’d find a new home in the town.”

Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb welcomed the news and said: “I am thrilled we will finally have a permanent police presence back in Stourbridge. This is something I have campaigned for since I was elected in 2019 and now it will shortly happen with a town centre location.

“The people of Stourbridge have been adamant since the closure of the police station in 2017 that they wanted to see a police base back to deter crime and offer reassurance that policing was a priority in their town.

“For some years I hit a brick wall but since the arrival of the new chief constable Craig Guildford, and his focus on community policing, the mood music changed dramatically and things started to progress."