Members of Norfolk's Police and Crime Panel (PCP) have backed a proposal by Norfolk and Suffolk chief constables for a merged control room and a shared services partnership between the two counties.

The recommendations were made to the Police and Crime Commissioners for Norfolk and Suffolk and considered at their joint meeting in February.

During a meeting at County Hall this morning, the Norfolk PCP unanimously voted in favour of expressing support for the business case for the proposal, which includes establishing the collaborated Contact and Control Room and switchboard function at the Norfolk Constabulary HQ in Wymondham.

The business case also proposes to base the Shared Services Partnership in Suffolk.

The business case has been put together by Simon Bailey, the chief constable of Norfolk and Douglas Paxton, his Suffolk counterpart, as part of their plans to find joint savings of £36m by 2017/18, following the recently announced revised spending review.

Alec Byrne, chairman of the PCP, said: 'Having considered the proposals, the panel would like to offer our full backing to base the Contact and Control Room at a single site in Wymondham.

'Not only does this offer great potential for collaboration between Norfolk and Suffolk in the wider context of making savings, the centre at Wymondham will provide an excellent base for both counties.'