24th January 2024: NEW TOWN CENTRE POLICE STATION TO COME TO PRESTATYN!
Prestatyn Town Centre has thrived in recent years and is much busier than it once was. Although crime in the town is relatively low, antisocial behaviour does exist, and success sadly also brings with it a level of criminal activity. It is only right therefore that residents and visitors see the town policed appropriately.
I regularly meet senior officers from North Wales Police. I have asked them on many occasions to increase the visibility and accessibility of police services in Prestatyn, through the re-establishment of a permanent police base in the town centre. In addition to engagement with the police on this matter, I have held a number of discussions with officers from Denbighshire County Council on potential sites and the benefits to the authority’s Community Safety objectives.
I raised the issue in the House of Commons as a question to the Minister of State for Crime and Policing in June 2022. Next, I conducted a survey of residents and received an overwhelming response in support of this campaign.
I then wrote to the Chief Constable, Amanda Blakeman, to request a meeting of key decision makers. This meeting took place in November 2023 and was positive, resulting in "in principle" support for a police base in Prestatyn. Work between North Wales Police and Denbighshire County Council officers then took place further to this and the police announced on 24th January 2024 the very welcome news that a new police station would be coming to the town.
Until 2012, Prestatyn had its own police station on Victoria Road. Following the station closure, a police base operated successfully within Denbighshire County Council offices on Nant Hall Road, until their closure in 2018. Local police officers currently operate from Rhuddlan Police Station. The police also have a small working space in the Fire Station on Marine Road, Prestatyn which I have been reassured local police officers are encouraged to use, but this can never realistically meet the town’s requirements.
Nowadays, there are several ways to report crime to the police. I monitor the statistics closely and am concerned about incidents particularly in and around the town centre. However, all too often there is a sense amongst constituents that the police are there to react to criminal behaviour rather than keep the peace and prevent crime. In my view, neighbourhood crime, and anti-social behaviour in town centres, is best tackled with the visibility and responsiveness that a police station can provide.
I know North Wales Police has a vision to make North Wales the safest place in the United Kingdom. Police officers from the Denbighshire coastal area are as keen as me to see this vision achieved in this part of the Vale of Clwyd. I believe a permanent police base will provide residents and businesses in the town with peace of mind, make all feel safer and reduce crime.
