ALL Whitchurch-based police officers will no longer be based in the town under plans to sell-off Hampshire Constabulary’s buildings.

Under the force’s Estate Change Programme, patrol units are expected to move to either Basingstoke or Andover, and the police station buildings in Dances Lane will be sold off as early as 2017.

The plan of action would also mean that all rural neighbourhood officers in the Basingstoke area would be moved to Tadley – an estimated 25-minute drive from the town.

Police investigators will still use the existing building from 2015 until their new headquarters are ready in late 2016.

The police have also said that the existing base will be used as a drop-in location for patrols during this period and that they hope to set up a new drop-in facility in the town after 2016.

Whitchurch borough councillor Keith Watts is among those who is unhappy about the plan.

He said: “The police are incredibly thin on the ground already, and now they are going to be based 16 miles away. That is very bad news for the town.”

A spokeswoman for the Estate Change Programme has pledged that the move away from a Whitchurch base will not affect the service to the public.

She said: “There will be no changes to the service provision. We use high-tech systems that pinpoint which patrol is closest to an incident and they are sent to the scene, and that won’t change.

“It just means that officers will start their patrol from Andover or Basingstoke when they start their shift.”

Hampshire Constabulary has also confirmed that there will be no cuts to personnel or services as a result of this plan.

Whitchurch police station is likely to be marketed for redevelopment in 2017. The spokeswoman could not confirm if the building would be redeveloped as housing.

All plans are subject to suitable accommodation being found for police operations, including the roads policing unit.