PLANS to close rarely used police stations and cut more than 70 civilian jobs have been put forward as Cleveland Police tries to save around £2.9m a year.

The force carried out an investigation over a three-month period which showed Eston, South Bank, Guisborough, Loftus, and Saltburn stations had less than one visit per day on average, while Redcar town office and Thornaby were only marginally higher.

As a result, the decision has been made to close the stations and install video phones at the front of each building so that there is a direct link to the police control room for members of the public.

Police officers will continue to patrol from these police stations and appointments at the stations will still be held to ensure residents have direct contact with officers.

Temporary Chief Constable Iain Spittal has defended the decision.

He said: “This change does not mean that we are withdrawing from our communities, it is about a common sense approach to ensure that we provide the best and most cost-effective service to local people.

“There has been a shift in favour of telephone contact and other means, such as social media, to communicate with officers. The public can still meet with officers face-to-face through convenient appointments and they will continue to be accessible in other public places.

“We are becoming a much more technological society and, as the needs of the public changes, we must adapt and use our budgets wisely.”

Reception areas at the main police stations, such as Avenue Road, Hartlepool, Middlehaven in Middlesbrough, Kirkleatham in Redcar, and Thistle Green in Stockton will remain open between the hours of 8am and 8pm.

The front desk service is provided by Sopra Steria as part of a ten-year outsourcing contract the force agreed in 2010 which saw 500 civilian jobs transfer to the company.

The decision to close the front desks means that about six full time posts will be put at risk.

A renegotiation process between the two parties means about 73 jobs will go under the plans, with 20 more Sopra staff transferring back to Cleveland Police. Sopra says it is reopening a voluntary redundancy scheme for those affected.

Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger said: “The research has been made available to me and I am confident that Cleveland Police can deliver the right service to communities with the alternative arrangements on offer.

“I do not underestimate the strength of feeling around topics such as front counters, but it’s so important that we look after the public purse and have honest conversations about services that are being funded, but that are underused. “

As well as making additional savings, the force is also looking to implement a 1.99 per cent council tax precept.