Hundreds of residents from Brierley Hill and Wordsley have joined local campaigners in calling on the Police and Crime Commissioner to u-turn on his plan to move Brierley Hill Police Station to Dudley.

The campaign which is being led by retired firefighter, Wayne Little; Brierley Hill ward councillor, Adam Davies and Dudley South MP, Mike Wood, have called for a u-turn on this “senseless and damaging” plan. Little, who is standing as a councillor in the upcoming local elections for the Conservative Party, said:

“Brierley Hill is right in the middle of the Dudley borough – therefore, if there is to be one 'super station' for the whole borough. It makes much more sense for it to be here in Brierley Hill rather than tucked away in the north end of the borough on the Sandwell border.

“The Police and Crime Commissioner will say this doesn’t mean slower response times for residents in Brierley Hill, Wordsley, Stourbridge and other parts of the borough, but after 30 years in the emergency services, I know the location of the place where our officers are based is absolutely critical to quick response times.”

Brierley Hill councillor Adam Davies, added: “The Police and Crime Commissioner’s plan makes no sense at all.

"We’re told this new super station would be to serve the whole borough – but the new proposed location near Tipton is further away from most parts of our borough than our existing station in Brierley Hill is.

“Unless he sees sense and leaves our police station where it is, or builds the new super station elsewhere in the Brierley Hill area which sits roughly in the centre of the borough, it’s hard to see how crime rates and response times won’t worsen as a direct result of his damaging decision.”

Dudley South MP Mike Wood, added: “West Midlands Police recently recruited their 1000th extra police officer thanks to the Government’s commitment to fund 20,000 extra officers across the country.

"From that, we should be seeing crime rates fall and response times improved right across Dudley South, but that won’t happen if the Police and Crime Commissioner moves our station to the border with Sandwell.

“Residents in Brierley Hill, Wordsley, Kingswinford and elsewhere in the centre and south of the borough are rightly furious at this plan – that’s why we’re calling on Simon Foster to change his mind.”

Hundreds of residents have signed paper petitions which will be presented to the PCC. Those wishing to join the call for the PCC to either leave the existing station in Brierley Hill, or build the new super station in the Brierley Hill area, can add their name to the online petition here.