A FORMER police station is on the market ahead of it being demolished and a block of 22 flats built in its place.

Pitsea Police Station, in Rectory Road, closed in 2016 during Essex Police efforts to cut costs by closing ten stations with public-facing counters. 

Planning permission for a three-storey building to replace the station were approved in October last year, but the site is now on the market and is “open to offers”.

Pitsea north west ward councillor Pat Reid feels the station should have been kept open as it was “more accessible for Pitsea residents”.

She said: “People felt safer and more secure having it there. A lot of residents were very angry when it closed.

“The fact you could walk in and just speak to somebody was much more convenient.”

“In some ways, I understand why it was taken away, as Essex Police was facing difficult budget cuts at the time.

“We do need more homes for people, but they need to be properly affordable for Pitsea residents.

“It’s definitely better to do something with the site rather than leave it vacant.”

The building, a two-storey L-shaped station built in the 1970s, will be knocked down once the sale is agreed.

A new apartment block will be part three-storey part and two-storeys tall.

It will be made up of 17 two-bedroomed flats and five one-bedroomed flats, along with 22 car parking spaces. There will also be three disabled parking spaces.

Fellow Pitsea north west councillor Stuart Terson said: “I would much rather it stayed as a police station, but it was completely down to Essex Police to make the decision to sell it.”

Mr Terson also says he would prefer to see new houses built, as opposed to flats.

He added: “We’ve got flats popping up all over the place, but we need more houses with gardens.”

Both Pitsea and Billericay’s stations shut in 2016, while Brentwood, Canvey and Rayleigh police stations were closed to the public.