BUILDING work has started at Lancashire Police's new multi-million pound police station in Blackburn.

The state-of-the-art centre is being built on land at Greenbank Business Park, close to the M65 junction, and will serve all of Eastern Division, which covers Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley.

The new contract has been awarded to Wates Construction based in Manchester, one of the largest companies in the UK.

Completion of the work, scheduled for June 2002, will spell the end for the current police station in Northgate.

The crumbling Victorian building will be sold off and a smaller police station built in the town centre at a site to be decided. The entire scheme will cost around £8million, £5.6m for the new headquarters and £2.4m for the new town centre base, and has been made possible because of a grant from the Home Office. Chief Supt John Thompson, head of Eastern Division, said: "This is a unique opportunity to design a new building to take us forward through the 21st century. It's very exciting to be part of the whole project and although there may be hiccups along the way, we anticipate the project will be finished on time."

The current station in the listed building in Northgate is being marketed by the police and one possible new owner could be Blackburn College.

The new Blackburn town centre station will be used by officers in the town centre while the rest of the divisional work will be at Whitebirk.

Police chiefs have bought the land at Greenbank and construction work on the three-storey purpose-built building started last week.

The Victorian building in Northgate is outdated and too cramped for the demands of a modern police centre. The station is headquarters for one of the busiest divisions in Lancashire and is regularly filled to bursting during busy periods.

A gym, doctor's surgery and modern canteen have also been included in the architect's drawings.

Police had hoped to have the new centre open by spring, but problems with the initial estimate for the project led to the scheme being sent out to tender for a second time. The force's solicitors are now looking at legal action against the firm of surveyors who, they said, gave them the wrong information and caused the delay.

Police chiefs say the new police base will not mean the closure of either Great Harwood or Accrington police stations.