PLANS to turn a former police station back into offices have been approved. 

Pershore's former police station on Queen Elizabeth Drive may finally have people walking through its front doors again after Wychavon District Council approved new plans for the building.

The building had remained vacant since 2016 when the decision was made to move the town's police officers into the Civic Centre.

It led Wychavon District Council to submit an application to change the use of the building to give a wider potential to an  “otherwise defunct building”.

The building has remained vacant for the past eight years. 

“A future letting of this building as offices could bring economic benefits to the town generally, as occupants would use the local businesses,” it said in the planning paper.

“There are good vehicular and pedestrian accesses to the building.

“The vehicular access is via Queen Elizabeth Drive and across the Civic Centre car parks.

“The pedestrian access is via the Civic Centre complex and off the High Street via the link path alongside the Pickled Plum public house.”

West Mercia Police had taken over the building in 1997 when it was being used as a social services office.

Wychavon District Council said the building was unlikely to be used as a police station again and its current status gave them limited options to use it.

The change in use of the building to general offices will now allow the council to find a beneficial use for it instead of keeping it vacant.

Pershore Civic Society had provided no objections to the application and agreed that it was “time something was done with the property.”