The newly-refurbished £16m Rochdale Police Station – dedicated to Gloria Oates OBE DL – has had its official opening.
Members of Greater Manchester Police and the Police Authority (GMPA) gathered alongside councillors and representatives from partner agencies to open the new look HQ in memory of Gloria, the former vice-chairman of GMPA who died in 2010.
Her family was also invited to the celebration where two ceremonial plaques were unveiled - one to mark the official opening and another dedicated to her.
Christine McGawley JP said: "Gloria was extremely passionate and committed to her work with the Police Authority.
"This building will enable police officers and staff to provide a first-class police service for the people of Rochdale and is a fitting tribute and legacy to her."
Work began on the police station in August 2010 with the building stripped back to its basic structure to create open plan office space.
New external lighting was also installed at the front of the building alongside a new public entrance featuring a glass frontage.
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said: "This building has been designed to maximise the strengths of our staff and enable them to work in more collaborative ways. We are already using it as a community hub, and are encouraging community groups and partner agencies to share this asset.
"It is important that the new headquarters remains accessible to the public in the centre of the town, and I believe it sets a high standard for future regeneration in the borough."
Mrs McGawley added: "Walking into Rochdale Divisional Headquarters is like walking into a completely new building.
"Officers and staff now have the high-quality working conditions they deserve, providing them with the tools to deliver a continuously improving, efficient and effective police service to the people of Rochdale."
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Chief Superintendent John O’Hare is encouraging community groups to share this newly-refurbished station? What community groups? Is there an “In Crowd?” Would like to know how this particular one will be policed.
We don’t pay council tax for party political or religious groups to use Rochdale’s public community centres but RMBC Grants blithely ignore those conditions year on year. Have no whinges in seeing community tax go to front line police officers’ working against crimes but this reads like some sort of social service which GMP Chief Constable Fahy has time after time insisted is not what the force is for.
Let any political or religious groups use this building instead of meeting at their faith venues or party political ‘rentals’ and It’s A Given that Rochdale police will loose the confidence of its Jo Public forever.
Not the 'community groups' and 'community leaders' media news speak again ?
How does one get to be a community leader ?
The only 'community group's that should be using the Police station, apart from the police officers and support teams, are the criminals.
The sign is useful, it stop anyone making a won't it?
I confess to knowing little of Gloria Oates, though I understand that her career was primarily in nursing. I unreservedly accept that she gave many years of her life to serving others including the Police Authority, and see no reason why she should not have been the subject of a memorial plaque to commemorate her years of dedication.
However, as this is a 'Police Station', surely it would have been more appropriate to dedicate the building to Ray Codling, a Police Inspector from the Rochdale Division, who was murdered in the line of duty at Birch Services in 1989, and who was doing exactly what he was there to do - protecting and serving the community, in his chosen career as a policeman.
Several other policemen from this town have also died whilst on duty, so why not remember them too - especially at a newly dedicated Police Station.
We forget too easily the debt we owe, and the sacrifices they make on our behalf. It's not too much to ask, surely?
The last paragraph of that report is a joke !! How efficient is it when you have to take suspects &/or prisoners to a cell in another town taking up the valuable time of 2 officers ?? State of the art police H.Q. without cells ?? Do me a favour.
why pay £16m on a new police station when all the cells have been closed and relocated to the new police station in bury.....it really doesnt make any common sense doesnt this council and goverment think we pay enough money out from our tax as it is...another waste of money will be the metro link
GMPs new police HQ in North Manchester cost £64m basic before adding costs of motivational artwork, planters etc. Rochdale station re-vamp is reported at a cost £16m. That’s a cool £80m basic and whichever way you cut it, it will be copped for by taxpayers. Tributes to the late Gloria Oates OBE are undoubtedly well merited and will be appreciated by her family, but Harry’smate Rochdale comment makes one ponder.
GMPA published community * views, while setting a budget that’s seen more redundancies and more jobs cut for large numbers of efficient staff.
* ‘We want crime dealt with and a police presence on our streets. We do not want the police acting as politically-correct social workers
* ‘Officers should not be doing surveys of communities, doing social workers' work, planting bulbs and getting down with the kids. Savings in time and money can be made by returning to "law enforcement"
* ‘Support functions - far too many police officers are in posts that civilians could do much more cost effectively - many officers are doing desk jobs and are just waiting to retire."
GMPA Chairman Councillor Murphy said at our town hall ‘Neighbourhood policing is the heart of what we do - the bedrock - and the police authority will continue to fund it. We acknowledge that visibility is important and we want to put more officers on the street.
Accordingly why have police leaders re-vamped the station in Rochdale to seat other Agencies, when massive new town centre buildings are “in the making” and on-the-street crime fighting was the rally call for their job losses and cut backs ?
Seeing a couple of PCSOs walking main streets in this weather isn’t the kind of officer visibility I signed up to in addition. Don’t know who I’m paying for what anymore but believe I’m paying a few times, for having less, that’s getting branded up with different labels.
Hope they then will be able to provide a first class service to the community,including investigating ,rounding up and arresting all the little so called anti social behaviour scroats and their families ,who continue to cause so much stress and criminal damage to the good people around the area.......
Rochdales Police Station? is that a misprint??
No cells = Not a station, its simply an office for pen pushers and a taxi rank, As the prime role of officers now is to ferry prisoners to proper police stations in Chadderton and Bury.
Anyway a nice touch to have Rochdales Police Office and Taxi services dedicated to Gloria. .