WORKS to overhaul Tamworth Police Station will start in just weeks, but the money for a full upgrade is locked away, according to the local MP.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson has been pushing to upgrade the 25-year-old station since April last year, now that it houses upwards of 150 staff.
Smaller renovations inside the station are about to begin, but the bigger project isn't set in stone.
"My understanding is there going to be knocking a few walls out and re-modelling inside and again there is a couple of things we're working on," he said.
READ ALSO:
"If we can land them it will be the icing on the cake, put it that way."
But Mr Anderson couldn't pinpoint how much money was slated for the major Fitzroy Street upgrade project.
"That's still being worked out because there's still some design factors being brought into play when they renovate inside," he said.
The station work will be carried out in sections, with normal police work to carry on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mr Anderson said he had been "working very closely with police" in Tamworth and some options were still on the table.
"We're looking at renovating inside, it's going to create more space, it's going to create a better working environment, and provide a better opportunity for growth into the timeframe going forward," he said.
"[The] money is locked away and they're currently just working through plans to see what it looks like.
"[It'll be] knocking out a few walls and certainly it will create an environment that they need to have."
The Tamworth station is the headquarters for the Oxley Police District, which stretches from Willow Tree in the south, to almost Kentucky in the north, and west to Pilliga.
Mr Anderson said several units, including police radio, highway patrol, crime management and prosecutions, all work out of the station in addition to general duties and detectives.
"There are a number of divisions, a number of different areas that use this police station, so it has to be fit for purpose in a re-model, [so we need to] take a look and better use the space," Mr Anderson said.
