CALLINGTON Police Station is likely to close to save costs but there are no plans to remove a policing team from the town, it was confirmed this week.

Inspector Tony Joslin said the building was too large for the needs of its present force and was incurring costs that could be used in providing a better police service to the public.

The police force is looking for an alternative location to house the neighbourhood team of two police constables and two PCSOs which covers Callington, Stoke Climsland, Gunnislake and Calstock.

Callington Town Council said this week it would be willing to talk to officers about utilising a vacant unit within the town hall and pannier market complex.

The enquiry office at Callington police station was closed three years ago, meaning the public could no longer go there to report crime. There were fears at the time that this could lead to the closure of the station.

The station also no longer has a dedicated sergeant with Sgt Angela Crow dividing her time between Torpoint and Callington.

Insp Joslin said: 'There are two full time constables and two PCSOs at Callington, which is a fairly small staff complement. Incidents where an immediate response is necessary are dealt with by Launceston or Liskeard stations where more staff are based.

'The police station at Callington is quite large and can comfortably house four times the amount it currently does. We simply do not need stations of that size and it would be very difficult to justify keeping it open.'

The inspector said times were very challenging for the police force with further reductions of staff planned across Devon and Cornwall. It was in its third year of budget cuts, with £40-million of savings already made and around £16-million to come.

The current strategy was to keep Liskeard and Saltash and look at scaling back on smaller satellite stations like Callington, Liskeard and Looe.

'There is a substantial cost in the upkeep of these buildings. We are also looking to make money out of the sale of these buildings where appropriate which will go back into the policing budget to achieve a better service for the public,' added Insp Joslin.

Town councillor Jeremy Gist said it was suggested by the council over a year ago that it would be practical for the police to relocate into the pannier market but the idea was never pursued beyond talking to one or two officers based in the town.

'We appreciate that the number of officers operating out of Callington is not what it once was and the police do not need a property this large but I would say that this building is very central to South East Cornwall; it is right on the junction of two main roads and on a primary ambulance route. If anything it would be much more sensible to have a police hub here than Liskeard.'

Cllr Gist said the town council would fight 'tooth and nail' against any loss of a police base in the town: 'We understand the financial constraints but we are really looking forward to working with the police to ensure we keep a police presence here that is both practical and affordable.'

Chairman of Calstock Parish Council Stephen Jaggard said to close the station would not make a great deal of difference to the public because it was no longer accessible since the enquiry office closed.

l Devon and Cornwall Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg will be talking about the role of the police and the crime commission at 7pm on July 16 at the Tamar Valley Centre, Drakewalls. This is a public meeting to which anyone can attend and raise questions. It will be followed by a meeting of Calstock Parish Council.