Solar power and rainwater to wash force’s cars – New police headquarters in Llay hailed as greenest in the UK

A new eco-friendly police station in Wrexham has been hailed as the greenest in the UK.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones officially opened the new Eastern Command and Custody Facility in Llay yesterday and revealed that some of the refurbished desks and chairs came from the former divisional HQ in Wrexham that it’s replaced.

The state-of-the art building, costing £21.5 million, has an 80 kilowatt solar array on the roof and rainwater harvesting for washing 85 police vehicles a week.

Smart LED lighting has been installed and already the building is showing that its energy use is 50 per cent lower than equivalent older buildings.

The 8,680 square metre complex, built by leading contractors Galliford Try, has offices and facilities for 350 police officers and staff, including 32 cells, canteen facilities and two gyms as well as locker rooms and garages.

It has replaced the police tower in the town centre – which closed in January after more than 40 years of operation.

Most of the chairs and office furniture came from local suppliers, including Shire Hall in Mold and from the town’s old police station. Much of it refurbished and upcycled on site by South-Wales-based Orangebox, while outside seating and tables are made by people with learning disabilities at Meifod Wood Products Denbigh.

Outside special care has been taken to look after the flora and fauna which include a little-known butterfly, the dingy skipper, and wild orchids.

The commissioner, a former police inspector, said: “I am delighted that we have a state of the art, eco-friendly 21st century building that is fit for the duties and responsibilities of modern policing.

“Nearly 90 per cent of the furniture was refurbished or remanufactured. 40 tonnes of CO2e greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding 26 tonnes of waste, saving £300,000 compared to the average cost of mid-range furniture.

“It is vitally important that we ensure that our new buildings are as energy efficient and as environmentally friendly as possible and I believe that this is now the most environmentally friendly police station in the UK.

“It has been future-proofed and will provide a wonderful working environment for our staff – far better than the town centre tower where I spent many years.

“So many people have been involved in this project and I would like to thank every one of them, but there is one person I need to thank above all others and that is Liz Bryan the Project Manager. Liz has been living and breathing this build for years, her dedication and professionalism has not gone unnoticed.”

The VIP guests at yesterday’s opening, including some of Mr Jones’s former colleagues from when he was stationed at the old Wrexham police station, were entertained by a school choir from Ysgol Glanrafon, in Mold before the plaque was unveiled by the commissioner who was accompanied by Chief Constable Carl Foulkes.

“This has been an amazing project resulting in a fantastic new facility which will make such a difference to policing in the area,” said Chief Constable Foulkes.

“With administrative offices, key policing functions and a state of the art custody suite now ideally located to serve Flintshire and Wrexham, I am delighted that we have a facility which enables us to meet the demands of a modern police environment.

“I am also looking forward to the opening of our new Wrexham town centre station later this year. This will be the base for our response officers, community support officers and neighbourhood team as well as providing a front counter service for the public.”

An ecology corridor has also been established to allow wildlife to move freely past the site to the hedges by the main road to the industrial estate while during construction, the development team donated rescued orchids to planting projects at Wrexham Prison and to the Orchids for Schools Project.

North Wales Police Environmental and Energy Conservation Manager Anna Pretious said: “We project a £10,000 a year saving on energy costs with 10 per cent of the electricity generated by solar power and 80 per cent of the rest from other renewable sources.

“We harvest rainwater into an 18,000 litre tank which is enough to wash 136 vehicles and on the site we have a sustainable drainage system with two ponds to collect the run-off and prevent flooding and other ponds to encourage bio-diversity.

“As a force we have been taking wildlife and bio-diversity very seriously for 20 years and here we had habitat and geological surveys done by Dr Birch which showed there was a mosaic of habitats here which have been protected during and after construction.”

Later this month, on Saturday, May 18, the site will host the Bio Blitz from 10am to 2pm when members of the public are invited to join in a wildlife survey of the site.

Yesterday Wrexham.com reported that the town’s policing team is preparing to move into its new base in the former Oriel Wrecsam – with officers set to relocate to the building later this month.