Work begins on centre for armed police

£20M TRAINING FACILITY BEING BUILT AT FORCE HEADQUARTERS

- By JOSEPH RICHARDS

WORK is underway on a controversial armed training facility for Staffordshire Police - costing more than £20 million.

The purpose-built soundproofed building will provide specialist officers with state-of-the-art facilities including a 10-lane 50-metre indoor firing range, training rooms and office space.

It also includes a skills house to train tactics relating to building entry and searching, and will allow officers to deploy more quickly in Staffordshire when needed. Work is expected to be completed by November 2026.

Earlier this week, the Burton Mail reported how Reform councillor Anthony Screen expressed concern over the rising cost of the scheme, which had been priced at £15m, and called for construction to be delayed while the project was scrutinised further.