LYDNEY’s police station has reopened, five years after it was closed.

In March it was announced by Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commisioner Martin Surl that the base would open its doors again, with 20 police officers and two sergeants available to the local community.

Lydney police station was shut along with Cinderford’s in 2015. It was initially the plan to also close the Coleford police station and move operations to Forest if Dean District Council’s headquarters, but that plan was cancelled and the Coleford station was retained.

Mr Surl said it was his ambition to re-open Lydney police station, in the high street, when the money was available, following budget cuts to policing serivices.

As of 2018 Lydney had a population of approximately 7,400.

The latest crime figures from Police.UK show the Lydney policing neighbourhood had 97 incidents of crime in January – 34 of which were violence and sexual offences, 24 were anti-social behaviour and nine were burgarlies.

Mr Surl said last month: “I am proud to say that since I was elected in November 2012, in contrast with the extensive programme of closures authorised at the time not a single Gloucestershire police station has closed. Though I accept, some stations have been forced to change in the way they operate.

“I can understand that the authority was in a difficult financial position at the time and thought cashing-in on the building was a solution.

“But I was not prepared to sacrifice the long term security of the police in the Forest in favour of a short term gain.”

And Chief Constable Rod Hansen added: “We took the difficult decision to withdraw services from Lydney Police Station as part of the New Operating Model we had to introduce following cuts in Home Office funding.

“Re-opening Lydney Police Station will mean a permanent police presence in a town which is growing rapidly as a result of the burgeoning local economy and the now free passage across the Severn bridges.

“The reopening of Lydney is yet another example of how Gloucestershire Constabulary is bucking the national trend; instead of closing stations we are actually opening them.”