Inverell Shire Council Mayor Paul Harmon could not be happier. “A new police station is something we’ve been desperately seeking for a number of years,” he said. 

Just two weeks ago Cr Harmon was at the police station on a tour around the precinct for journalists to see first-hand how offices double as locker rooms and evidence is piled up on the floor in a building created in 1960 for just 16 officers.

Finally, after lobbying by Councillors and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, the run-down building will be knocked down and rebuilt to accommodate the 46 full-time police officers and more to come in the future. 

READ MORE: New police station is high on Marshall’s agenda for Inverell

“It’s great to see that all our lobbying and Adam’s lobbying has turned up with some good news,” Cr Harmon said.  “Now that the money is in the budget, now that we have funding to go through the proper planning process we can expect work to begin towards the end of the year or start of next year.”

Mr Marshall envisions a brand new facility. “The new station will be designed and built with plenty of space to house additional police and modern technology to give our officers the resources and support they need to keep our community safe well into the future,” Mr Marshall said.

“A huge thank you to the community, council and the local police for all their support and help with this successful campaign. Together we have achieved a wonderful result today.”

“Armidale’s new 24-hour police station was built in 2007, Moree’s was built in 2013 and now I am delighted that it is Inverell’s turn.”

Minister for Police Troy Grant acknowledged the efforts of Mr Marshall, Inverell Shire Council and the community in lobbying the government for the new station.“The strong lobbying led by Adam ensured this new police station was always high on my agenda,” Mr Grant said.

READ MORE: Marshall sounds the siren for a new police station