Cornwall's police commissioner is calling for money from two major developments proposed in Truro to go towards building a new police station in the city.

For decades developers have contributed to local areas by funding roads, cycle paths and other community facilities through money paid as a condition of planning approval.

These so-called ‘section 106’ agreements and Community Infrastructure Levy payments prevent the cost of the necessary infrastructure that is needed to offset the effect of the development falling on councils or the tax payer.

Now the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is attempting to extend that principle to pay for police buildings, vehicles and essential equipment.

Alison Hernandez is arguing that to maintain a high quality of police presence, officers and staff need suitable premises.

Since December her team has submitted seven requests for developer contributions, the most significant of which is for £1.9million and relates to a planning application for 3,550 homes at Langarth, near Truro.

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The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has also made an application for £275,000 relating to proposals for 320 homes and a 400-bed student development in Truro’s Pydar Street.

If successful the total of up to £2.175m raised from that and the Langarth project is likely to go towards a new and larger police station for the city, the office has said.

Ms Hernandez said: “Developers have rightfully contributed towards providing the school spaces and highways infrastructure that their properties will require.

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“Our force area is one of the safest places in the country and part of my role is to own and invest in the estates that the police need to keep it that way. We have spent many millions of pounds on new stations for our communities in recent years but receive a fraction of this each year from central government for capital projects, so I am interested in exploring new ways of raising the money required to maintain a world-class police service.

“Truro’s police station is not one of our largest and is pretty much at capacity.

“Our communities have funded hundreds more police officers through their taxation over the course of my four-year term.

“I see this as correcting an injustice in that until now the tax payer has been footing the bill for police infrastructure required because of housing and business developments.”

How the old Truro Police Station looks now as retirement homes

How the old Truro Police Station looks now as retirement homes

Truro used to have a large police station off the Trafalgar Roundabout, accessed via St Clement's Hill, but officers were moved to a public enquiries office in Lemon Street, in 2010. This was then closed in 2017 and officers moved again, to Pydar House on Castle Rise.

The old station was sold in 2014 and turned into retirement homes.