POLICE and council chiefs have stressed they continue to work together to try to find a suitable base for officers in Stourbridge after renewed calls for a police presence in the town.

Stourbridge’s MP Suzanne Webb has said opening a new police base in the town should be “priority” after two teenagers were stabbed in The Ryemarket during daylight shopping hours on March 15.

Plans were unveiled in 2019 suggesting police would move into the council-owned former CAB building in Market Street but the deal fell through – all parties have now admitted.

But they told the News they are continuing to try to find another site for a possible police base.

Stourbridge’s MP recently met with Ryemarket centre manager Aaron Powell and town traders to discuss concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour and she said many have highlighted worries about the lack of a police presence.

She said: "I am being told loud and clear across the town centre that anti-social behaviour has increased in the last six months and this is leading to more crime.”

The MP said the recent stabbing had “shocked many” and she added: “I share that shock and the concern that this issue should be a priority for the police and the Police and Crime Commissioner.

“There are specific concerns around the Stourbridge carpark and I welcome the council spending £150,000 on CCTV in that location.

“But what many said, and I fully support, is that a police station or, at the very least a permanent base for police officers in the town centre, is what is needed right now.

“Local people want the reassurance of a visible police presence in our town and since the closure of the police station by the then PCC in 2017, Stourbridge has been forgotten in my view.

“We need our police station back. It is what I want to see happen, it is what many retailers would like to see happen and it is what the majority of Stourbridge residents want to see happen.

“I urge the PCC to act and work with me so we can reinstate the much-needed police station."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said the force remains “committed to finding a permanent base for local officers in Stourbridge” and he added: “The force’s estates team are working with the council to identify a suitable location.

“I have also committed to rebuilding community policing, after a decade of reckless cuts that has taken neighbourhood policing numbers from 1,800 in 2010 down to 700 by 2018.

“I have pledged 450 extra neighbourhood police officers to be based in local communities across the region to strengthen pro-active, preventive and visible policing to keep people, their families and local communities safe and secure.”

Dudley Council said talks have been taking place regarding a possible site for a new police base.

Helen Martin, the authority’s director for regeneration and enterprise, said: “We have been working with the police to help find them a suitable base in Stourbridge for some time.

“The most recent negotiations around the former CAB building ended because the site did not meet their specific requirements.

“However, we are continuing to work with the police and remain optimistic that a suitable site can be found for them.”