Work starts on £63m police HQ

A sod-cutting ceremony has marked the start of building of the most modern police headquarters in the UK.

Police leaders and developers gathered at Central Park, in Oldham Road, Newton Heath, to officially begin the building phase of Greater Manchester Police’s new multi-million-pound development.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “The current HQ is out-of-date, exhausted and expensive to keep together.

“This new building will produce greater efficiencies so we can put more effort into frontline policing and achieve better team working and flexibility.”

The Greater Manchester Police Authority formally signed and sealed a £63 million deal to relocate the force HQ in early June.

The site, just over the Failsworth border, is already home to Fujitsu and One Central Park, which houses Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT).

The new headquarters should open early in 2011.