PRESTWICH is to get its long-awaited new police station right at the heart of the community.

After more than three years of searching for a suitable location, Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA) has agreed to set up a manned police post in Fairfax Road.

And officers are hoping to move into the Victorian mid-terraced property by the summer.

The contentious issue of where to site a new station has been running since police bosses announced a radical shake-up of police property in 1998.

An alternative to the old Hornby Lodge building in Bury New Road was sought after it was deemed too large and local councillors, MP Ivan Lewis and members of the public called for a station to be based nearer to the town centre.

But suggested venues in the Longfield Centre and ideas such as joining forces with Bury Council for a "one-stop shop" failed to materialise and the search dragged on.

Last October, The Prestwich and Whitefield Guide demanded immediate action to provide a new police station after 17 new police posts had been announced in Greater Manchester, but Prestwich had been missed out.

Head of Prestwich and Whitefield Township, Insp David Jones, said he was delighted with the decision to move into Fairfax Road, which was resolved at a meeting of the GMPA earlier this month.

He said: "We did look at the property at the end of last year but thought it was too big. In the end we decided we could not carry on being too picky and signed a lease for the property."

Situated next to the Citizens Advice Bureau, the three-storey accommodation with basement was once home to John Ardern's research and forensic marketing business before Mr Ardern relocated to Balmoral Grange in Prestwich.

Insp Jones said it was intended for the Prestwich Township team, headed by Sgt Ian Campbell, to take over the entire property with a view to providing a venue for any future special police projects.

He said: "At street level there will be a public inquiry facility that will be open during the day to the public, with similar hours to Whitefield police station. It will be more of a traditional police station than a "one-stop shop" and have uniformed police officers.

"As a minimum it will be home to the Township team but because of its size there is capacity for other parts of the force to use the facility."

"We have been concerned that we were slightly removed from the town centre but the new station will have a higher profile in Prestwich. It has easy access, is close to parking and at the centre of all the new developments. It is ideally located."

Insp Jones said a moving date had not yet been confirmed but he hoped it would be by the summer months after the new building was "kitted out" for police use.

Hornby Lodge will be put up for sale.

MP Ivan Lewis said he was "delighted" about the move after campaigning "long and hard over a number of years" for relocation to the town centre.

And he praised the Guide for its involvement in the campaign, adding: "I want to congratulate the Prestwich and Whitefield Guide on highlighting this issue recently. I have no doubt this played a part in achieving a resolution to this long-standing issue.

"It will bring the police closer to the community and will make people feel safer and more secure."