A TOWN’S police force is to be relocated to a fire station in the first move of its kind in North Yorkshire.

Ripon’s police and fire services will share a base from early next month, when the local Neighbourhood Policing Team and ten response officers currently based at Ripon Police Station on North Street will relocate to Ripon Fire Station on Stonebridgegate.

The sharing of resources between police and fire services in this way has been mooted for some time.

The county's police and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan has been calling for closer collaboration between police and fire service in sharing resources for a number of years. The fire authority has also been working on creating a joint fire and police station in Ripon since early 2016.

She said: “I am pleased to announce that police officers and PCSOs in Ripon will soon be sharing a building with colleagues from the fire service. This is a move that I hope to see repeated across the county in a bid to improve collaboration opportunities, allow for greater shared learning and to save money on buildings which can then be reinvested into the frontline.

“This long-awaited move will see the police relocate out of a costly and outdated building into Ripon Fire Station, alongside their emergency service colleagues.

“The decision to dispose of the land and buildings at North Street has been in place for some time as part of our long-term estates strategy, and I am pleased that this is now going ahead.”

Rob Bowles, chair of North Yorkshire Police Federation said it had no objections to the move, as it would not involve the loss or redeployment of any officers or police staff.

“In essence it’s just a movement of people from one area to another; there’s no reduction or loss of services,” he said. "The team are simply going to be moving to a shared facility with the fire service.”

He said the front office would be closed, but it was used by very few people. The public will be able to contact police via the 101 system.