The now-closed Hoylake Police Station has been put up for sale.
As part of a cost saving exercise last year, Merseyside Police made the decision to close several Wirral police stations (background information) and replace them with community stations. In the case of Hoylake, the community station is based at the Hoylake Parade Community Centre.
The freehold, vacant building on Queens Road is been marketed by Lambert Smith Hampton (at time of writing the property is not listed on their website) with a suggestion that the building could be either redeveloped or converted to apartments. Planning consent would be required of course.
I remember reading a letter written to Hoylake Junction, by a lady named Helen Russell, regarding the demise of Hoylake. She summed it up completely, when describing the destruction of this once lovely Town, as “Death by a thousand cuts” and boy, wasn:t she correct?
The Police Station in Queens Road was an integral part of the Town and although a place to be feared as a child, I still remember Les Blackwell’s dad, being the Sergeant there in the 60;s and what a kindly man he was.
Find it difficult to believe that this building is to be sold off, no doubt the greedy “developers” at work yet again…
Hoylake Police Station reflected local society, our community. It has been closed for economic reasons which make sense to the bean counters and bureaucrats; people who will never choose to reduce the numbers of administrators when they can reduce the quality of service instead (the Turkeys will never vote for Christmas will they?). Until the people of Hoylake choose to take back local democracy from a party political divide and elect people not because of their party but because of their decency and value to Hoylake we will not be able to stop this tide of reduction.
Un-stopped we will be living in a place with no character controlled from far away (police resources being spent elsewhere) with no local shops, landmarks left, a bland soul-less place. This needs to be stopped.
I feel so sorry that Hoylake Police station is going and yes I can also remember Mr Blackwell. Well there is nothing left that can go from Hoylake it has all gone and it is very sad . Is the building listed by any chance ??
I couldn’t agree more, I was born in West Kirby in 1944 but spent most of my formative years living in Hoylake which was then a bust town with a good shopping centre and gardens which were well cared for. I joined the Royal Navy in 1960 and used to return to Hoylake when I was on leave. When I was discharged I went to live in Cumberland but returned occasionally to see my mother and sister. Every time I returned I found it more depressing to see the way the town had been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that Market Street was a never ending row of junk shops. The town had become nothing more than ghost town. I haven’t returned since the mid 1990’s and have no real desire to do so, even as a pensioner, it holds nothing that I wish for.
Yes, it will no doubt be redesigned for maximum profit from its land footprint. I only hope that any fixtures & fittings of a historical nature can be saved and maybe moved to the Parade school as part of a local history display. The building needs to be visually recorded for the archives so when the plot of land becomes unrecognisable, there will always be a visual history available of an old town landmark. Wouldn’t be surprised if the old town hall suffers a similar fate one day.
No doubt this will be redeveloped into yet another ugly tower block of shoe box flats with poor parking provision. RIP Hoylake heritage.
There will be nothing left of Hoylake soon. It’s very sad. The perfect place In which to be brought up, a lovely seaside town, almost destroyed by greedy developers and rotten politicians.
I was a young trainee reporter on the Hoylake News back in 1970 and everyday we made the calls to the police station. A nice walk along Meols Drive in the summer and chat to the sergeant at the desk. In those days you knew all the police by their christian names… Gil Smoulders and Bob Kesteven are two names that spring to mind. Then you would join the crew at the Fire Station for a bacon sarnie and brew and go through the calls book looking for stories. After that it was down to the Lantern coffee bar for some local gossip! Happy Days.
I visited Hoylake this weekend and showed my son the Police Station where I was 1st posted in 1971 , Gil Smoulders was a PC on my shift .
Julian Barnes
Although I have been away from Hoylake for nearly 55 years I remember the Police Station well. Many of the Officers, including Gil smoulders took part in the annual YMCA pantomime each year. Gil always played the dame, and was hilarious. Many other Officers ]took art in the Panto either on stage or backstage.
The demise of the local Police Station is a national thing. Having served 25 years in Tayside Police it is hard to recognise policing as we knew it in the 70’s and 80’s. Lack of Officers on the street and more important, lack of local knowledge and the local ‘bobby’ who you could approach and confide in..
Hoylake isn’t any different to anywhere else.
Little wonder that the youth of today have no respect for the people who are there to serve
and protect them.
David Bond