Plans to redevelop Surrey Police headquarters at Mount Browne have been given the green light. The changes also include a new access road which the force says will speed up response times from Mount Browne by two minutes.

Significant changes to the police home include the demolition and reconstruction of the dog school, accommodation for police students and a new contact and deployment center, multi-storey car park with electric charging points .

Members of Guildford Borough Council’s (GBC) planning committee unanimously approved both applications on November 6. Councilors welcomed the request for the compactness of the development, with no increase in overall height and limited damage to the green belt.

One of the requests included a new western arm of the Artington roundabout, which the Force said would reduce traffic on nearby roads like Sandy Lane and The Ridges.

Right in the middle of an open field, officers pointed out that the new access road would be visible and would harm the green belt as well as agricultural land. However, they also noted that even small improvements in police response times can have a large positive impact on how emergencies can be handled.

The second request concerns the redevelopment and modernization of the site, including the demolition and construction of operational buildings, as well as the interior renovation of the old building, the corridor wing and the sports building.

Mount Browne, on the outskirts of Guildford, has been the headquarters of Surrey Police for over 70 years. The current campus contains a large number of buildings which were constructed mainly piecemeal and which are no longer deemed fit for use by the Force.

The benefits of this program include high-quality facilities to meet the ongoing operational needs of the police, as well as staff retention and well-being, according to the report. Replacing the kennels would also provide significant improvements to operations. Officers told the committee that currently all training dogs can see each other in the kennels, so if one dog barks, “they all go away”.

Lisa Townsend, Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), welcomed the decision, calling it an “important milestone for policing”. A six-week judicial review period now awaits before Surrey Police can make decisions on next steps.

Ms Townsend added: “Mount Browne has been the headquarters of Surrey Police for over 70 years, but the buildings here are dilapidated, expensive to maintain and simply no longer meet the requirements of a modern police force. »

The PCC and Surrey’s chief constable decided in 2021 that the force should remain at Mount Browne, on the edge of Guildford, rather than seek a new location.