THE sale of North Yorkshire Police’s headquarters could lead to the creation of 100 new jobs in the county.

Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan and Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police Dave Jones announced yesterday that the sale of Newby Wiske Hall has been completed.

The Grade II-listed building has been sold for an undisclosed sum to PGL, a company that runs educational activities for schools and young people, which could open to guests next spring and create more than 100 new jobs.

York Press:

Mrs Mulligan said: “I’m very pleased to be able announce the sale today. Back in 2012, I pledged to ensure that the people of North Yorkshire were served by a modern and responsive police force. To do this the police needed a headquarters fit for modern day policing.

“Newby Wiske Hall and its grounds are beautiful, but as a listed former stately home in a relatively remote rural location, it’s not what’s needed in this day and age and is expensive to run. There is of course some sadness to be leaving our home of some 40 years, but our new HQ in central Northallerton will save money over the longer term and help us modernise the way we work, ultimately improving the service to our communities.”

Mrs Mulligan said the force had received “quite a few offers on the Hall”, and PGL - named for founder Peter Gordon Lawrence - was chosen as they “will work sympathetically with the building”, and “have minimal impact on the environment”.

Richard Sanders from PGL said the firm employs more than 2,500 people across the country, and operates 23 centres across the UK, Europe and Australia, visited by 350,000 children each year.

He said: “We intend to invest in sympathetic conversion of the existing buildings to create accommodation for pupils and teachers on school trips who will take part in a wide range of adventure activities and local excursions.

“We plan to open for our first guests in Spring 2018 and will create more than 100 jobs, not only instructing activities, but in catering, housekeeping, site maintenance and management roles. We will be pleased to share our plans in more detail at an open evening in the near future. We look forward to welcoming guests to North Yorkshire from next year.”

Chief Constable Dave Jones said: “North Yorkshire Police has been lucky enough to be the latest in a long line of custodians of this beautiful building.

“We moved our headquarters to Newby Wiske 40 years ago and it’s been a fantastic place to work. But changes to the way we work, the way we police and the technology we use means it’s time to move on to a site that better suits our requirements in the 21st century.”

The force is due to relocate to the new headquarters in Alverton Court, Northallerton, this summer.

Mr Jones said: “We’ve been able to redevelop it to suit our needs exactly. It will support modern ways of working, it will be cost-effective to run and it will bring us even closer to the communities we serve. In short, it will be an excellent new home for North Yorkshire Police.”