New police station to be built at Pimpama on northern Gold Coast
A new police station will be built in the city’s expanding northern corridor to help curb growing crime rates.
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A NEW police station will be built in the city’s expanding northern corridor to help curb growing crime rates.
After years of lobbying from the Bulletin and residents, a new station will be built in Pimpama on the corner of Cox and Yawalpah roads. It will be co-located with the $3 million Queensland Fire and Emergency Services facility, which is expected to open in 2021.
Construction on the police station is expected to be undertaken during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years. Scope and design work is scheduled to begin this financial year. It will open in 2022.
Things have became so dire in the northern suburbs that residents banded together to form a community group to tackle crime. They complained about the time it took for police to respond to incidents.
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Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the new station would help meet growing police needs in the north end of the Gold Coast.
“It represents the expansion of the community in Pimpama and the northern Gold Coast surrounds,” she said.
“The expanding population and infrastructure in this northern area of the Gold Coast sees an increase for service delivery and the provision of an appropriate community-safety response.
“A new facility will mean police will have new ways of meeting community needs as this already established community continues to evolve and grow.”
The State Government said it was too early to talk police numbers or resources at the station.
Police Union president Ian Leavers said the only way to tackle crime was to invest in policing.
“I thank Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Police Minister Mark Ryan for the announcement of this new police station for the northern Gold Coast,” he said.
“Investment in policing is the only way to reduce crime and keep the public safe and this is a great step for the entire northern Gold Coast community.”
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Police Minister Mark Ryan said the Government was committed to continued investment in the Coast.
“We support our police by investing in the resources, technology and facilities they need to protect the community.
“The Commissioner and I recently announced that all uniformed first-responder officers, including here on the Gold Coast, will be issued with new hi-tech body worn cameras.
“Technologies like the cameras and the QLiTE tablet devices police now have, enable the Queensland Police Service to be more mobile and agile than ever before.
“That mobility and ability to respond rapidly, combined with the fact that there are more than 1000 officers permanently based on the Gold Coast, means the QPS is well placed to support community safety.
“But the QPS is always looking for ways to improve the level of service it provides.”
Gold Coast Police Union rep Andy Williams said the Member for Gaven, Meaghan Scanlon, had fought hard for the new station.
“As the only Government MP on the Gold Coast, Meaghan Scanlon obviously takes all Gold Coast views back to the Government and I thank her for making the case for this new police station, which will not only deliver better policing services in the Pimpama area but also support policing right across the entire Gold Coast Region,” Mr Williams said.
Ms Scanlon said it would help police promote community safety across the northern Gold Coast region.
“I spoke to the Minister about the prospect of this project and I’m pleased to see the QPS and the Government delivering for northern Gold Coasters,” she said.
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