A POLICE station in Southampton is set to be re-opened to accommodate a share of 450 new police officers set to be deployed across the

county.

The Bitterne police station is to undergo a major makeover which could be completed by 2021, it has been revealed.

The news comes as the police station in Bursledon Road was closed in 2016 with the building due to be sold off.

Now the force has announced its plans to revamp the site to accommodate some of the 450 police officers who will be recruited across Hampshire over the next three years.

When asked, the force did not confirm the cost of the project, the number of police officers set to be sent to the city, and whether other police stations across Hampshire would undergo a similar revamp or would re-open.

It is also not yet known whether the front counter at the police station in Bitterne will re-open too.

But in a statement Police and Crime Commissioner Michael Lane said: “Bitterne provides the best available location in Southampton to provide the additional capacity required for the uplift of additional police officers as a result of increased Government funding.

“The site also offers the opportunity to integrate some of the design learning that has taken place during the pandemic.”

Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith said: “The re-opening of Bitterne Police Station is very welcome news. Many people contacted me to express their disappointment when it closed some years ago. The Government promised to recruit 20,000 additional police officers and that process has already begun.

“We will see the first of our additional police officers in Southampton later this year and I expect to see some of those stationed in Bitterne.”

Cllr Dave Shields, cabinet member for stronger communities at Southampton City Council, described the announcement as a step in the right direction.

“I’m really pleased. Things are going to look a bit better for that side of the city,” he added.

The news follows several calls for more police officers in Southampton as figures released this year showed that crime in the city went up for the fifth year in a row.