Plans have been unveiled for a new police investigation centre on the edge of Norwich which could potentially cost more than £4.7m.
Norfolk Constabulary has lodged a bid with Broadland Council to build on a piece of vacant land at Broadland Gate Business Park, close to the Postwick Hub.
The new station, which was part of the constabulary's Norfolk 2020, is designed to help the police cope with crimes of a serious nature that require detective skills to investigate, including rape, sexual offences and serious violence.
It will be the second of two new investigation centres in the county unveiled by the force in 2017, with the other currently under construction in Swaffham. However, the proposals also came at a time when the closures of 10 smaller stations were announced.
The new centre will be on a five-acre site off Broadland Way, close to the Northern Distributor Road and the A47.
A spokesman for Norfolk Constabulary said: "Norfolk has seen significant increases in crimes which require detective skills to investigate. These crimes are of a serious nature; rapes, sexual offences, drugs and serious violence.
Therefore, to provide the highest quality of service to all victims, we need to consolidate and enhance our specialist investigative capability. We must also look ahead to the future and meet the challenges of a growing digital age.
"As part of our Norfolk 2020 plans, the development of a new Broadland Police Station, as well as a similar development currently under construction in Swaffham, sees us enhancing our ability to respond to changing crime types and invest in safeguarding and investigations to match the increase in service demands."
The spokesman added: "The new stations will transform the way we work, broadening our tactics into a more digital world while providing specialist support to detectives and victims in single locations. They will also make best use of new road infrastructures.
"When first proposed in 2017, the station was estimated to cost in the region of £4.7m. We are expecting this figure to rise as we develop our plans to meet the requirements for necessary facilities, for now and the future, while also taking the recent recruitment commitment into account ."
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