THE face of local policing will change significantly from next week with the closure of Alton police station.

As from next Tuesday, May 2, the neighbourhood, patrol and response teams will be moving to Mill Lane, on the trading estate in Alton, and the front counter services will also move, as the station closes its doors for the final time.

It will mean that people living in Alton and the surrounding villages who need to report a crime face to face or to speak directly with police staff will have to travel to Aldershot, Basingstoke or Winchester to do so.

This is part of a cost-saving property management scheme which has seen Hampshire Constabulary sell off vast swathes of its estate.

Clare Jenkins, Hampshire Constabulary’s district commander, said: “Although the police station is closing, we want to reassure our communities that we will still maintain our patrolling strategy and high-visible presence within Alton and the surrounding areas.”

The force maintains that nowadays most people prefer to engage with police either by telephone or online, with the need for front-counter services diminishing more and more by the day.

This trend of disappearing personal contact is seen in all areas of the high street, with banks, shops and public services choosing machines, the internet, and phones as the cheapest, most popular means of communicating with their users.

Michael Lane, Hampshire’s police and crime commissioner, added: “Building effective partnerships is one of my priorities for the role of commissioner, and our service must respond to changing demands. This move for neighbourhood and response teams keeps the police in the centre of Alton, where they will continue to keep residents safer.”

In a statement, Hampshire Constabulary confirmed: “Today, the vast majority of residents contacting the police do so via telephone, online, and by using other methods. As a result, use of front-counter services in Alton has declined considerably, as other contact methods are preferred by the community.”

But the advice remains the same. In an emergency, call 999, or call 101 for non-emergency issues, e-mail [email protected] or visit hampshire.police.uk.

Counter services will be available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, and from 9am to 5pm on Sundays, at Aldershot police station on Wellington Avenue, at the Northern Police Investigation Centre on Jays Close, Basingstoke, and at Winchester city neighbourhood police office on Town Street.

The response and neighbourhood teams based at Alton police station will move to Hatch House on Mill Lane, Alton. They will share the building with the Alton Family Centre, run by Hampshire County Council Social Services.