MAJOR improvement works to Southampton Central Police Station will remain 'on hold' until next year, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The station in Southern Road needs extensive repairs after corroding and flooding have beleaguered the building that opened in 2011.

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones had said officers would move out of the station this year so it could be revamped.

But now the Conservative politician has confirmed the works are ‘on hold' until May next year.

Daily Echo:

Speaking to the Echo, she said: “At the moment, the refit and improvements to the station are on hold and I hope to be able to sign them off and move forward with that from May 2024.

Ms Jones added: “Over the last few years there have been some issues at the station which mostly centre around the mechanical engineering of the way the building was constructed, and these very much lead to decisions taken 12-13 years ago.

“One of the buildings we have looked at carrying out significant changes to are those at Southampton Central.”

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The investigation centre was due to close this year with its 36-cell custody block shut for four months.

Ms Jones reassured residents at the time that they ‘have got nothing to worry about.’

But it has now been revealed there are two options to proceed with when it comes to upgrading the station – and no decision has yet been made.

Ms Jones said: “Either we decamp the building and have an empty building which we pass to the contractor who then does the work over approximately a 12-month period.

“Or, we fix the building floor by floor and we vacate one floor at a time and the building is fixed perhaps over a two to three-year period.

“I’m looking at all options in terms of the remediation works when we do proceed with that in 2024.”

A Freedom of Information Request by the Echo revealed the contents of the building report carried out at the station.

Accelerated pipework corrosion was among the faults found in the station, while isolated flooding has also caused closures for short periods.

This has resulted in rising costs and increased risks of legionella bacteria.