Front counter closure plan for New Ollerton Police Station

But the front counter at New Ollerton Police Station will close as part of the cuts, which will also see counter services go in Bulwell, Retford, and other parts of the county.

It is not yet know when the counter service at New Ollerton Police Station, in Forest Road, will go, but residents will now have to travel to either Mansfield or Worksop if they want to speak to a police officer face-to-face.

The move comes following the announced closure of Mansfield Woodhouse Police Station earlier this year.

Chad reported at the time that Nottinghamshire Police planned to sell the building at a massive loss, in a bid to avoid paying its £50,000 yearly running costs.

The station was built for £1.3m in 2007 but would only fetch £425,000 in current market rates, putting the force £875,000 out of pocket if the sale went ahead.

Instead, an eleventh-hour deal was struck with a local community organisation, which has taken the building on a short-term lease.

Speaking about the counter closures, Mr Tipping (pictured) said: ““We are working our way through the toughest of financial times – and that means making tough decisions.

“Successive years of funding cuts mean that we have already had to deliver savings to the tune of £42m and in the next 12 months we need to find a further £12.7m. Finding savings on this scale becomes progressively more difficult.

“The Chief Constable’s team and I have taken a long hard look at our police stations and which front counters are open at what time and tried to match our future plans to public demand. People keep telling me that officers are more important than buildings and we know from our reviews that many people now prefer to contact the police via telephone or email instead of making a trip to a station.”

The review of front counters was undertaken in recent months to ensure the most regularly used counters would remain fully staffed.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Torr added: ““We have outlined a number of possible options based on when and where the public need our front counter services the most.

“Exciting projects such as virtual front counters, smartphone apps and greater use of the force website and social media will enable us to provide a greater choice for people in how they make contact with the police in the future.”

To find out more about the plans, or give your views as part of the consultation process, go to www.nottinghamshire.pcc.police.uk.