A swift build and a stunning result ushers in a new era of policing in Taradale.
Today New Zealand Police has officially opened the new Taradale Police Station on Gloucester Street, Napier, which provides a modern workspace for up to 50 Police staff.
Police chose modular construction for the two-storey station to achieve a quick, high-quality build and value for money.
The opening ceremony was led by Police Commissioner Richard Chambers with Minister of Police Mark Mitchell cutting the ribbon to show the building is officially open and ready for use.
“It’s great to have this modern workplace centrally located between Napier and Hastings where our staff can effectively operate from and serve Taradale and the wider Hawke’s Bay community,” says Commissioner Richard Chambers.
“We’ve been impressed at how quickly the build has progressed, from demolition starting in late September last year to opening our doors now, around 8 months later, and demonstrating the value that this type of construction can offer Police.”
The new building replaces the old Taradale Police Station that closed in 2023 due to structural issues.
Nineteen modules were constructed in Wellington and transported to the site at the end of February.
“I’m really excited to see how the learnings from this project can benefit our staff more widely, in other locations, by providing fit for purpose workplaces and stations.”
Although the station is not open to the public, it has been built with disaster preparedness in mind for Hawke’s Bay Police.
“We’ve seen how frequent and unpredictable weather-related disasters are becoming and we’re all aware that we live in an earthquake-prone country.
“Police must ensure we can provide timely and responsive policing at all times, and having this station gives us more assurance that we can continue our essential work for the Hawke’s Bay community during and after natural disasters,” says Commissioner Chambers.
“To date, this new building has the largest roll-out of solar panels on a Police-owned building, which reflects Police’s commitment to investing in cost-saving initiatives that support our resilience while reducing our emissions.”
Earlier in the day, at a dawn ceremony the new building and the memorial stone for fallen officer Senior Constable Len Snee was blessed by Ngāti Mārau, Ngāti Rangitotohu and Ngāi Tahu of Ngāti Kahungunu, with Len’s family attending.
“Throughout the demolition of the old station and construction of the new, our fallen colleague, his family and his memorial stone have been front of mind,” says Eastern District Commander Superintendent Joel Lamb.
“We have ensured Len’s stone was well looked-after and has been put in a place where police staff and the community can continue to remember and pay their respects to a great man and police officer who contributed so much to the Taradale community.
“Eastern District and Hawke’s Bay Police are looking forward to the ongoing evolution of our place and policing in this community, working effectively together for safer communities.”
NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR EDITORS:
- The new station has been funded from the Government’s Budget 2024 investment in frontline policing (from the capital investment of $34.6 million). It cost $6 million to construct, with the total project cost, at this stage, at $7.2 million. The total cost of the new build has come in under our projected budget by approximately 5 percent.
- The workspace is needed because Napier and Hastings stations, and other properties, are at capacity.
- The old Taradale station building had internal property issues that were unable to be easily and cost-effectively fixed.
- Police collaborated with Niche Group, who delivered the build.
- The building is constructed from a rigid steel frame which provides great seismic robustness and allowed the 19 modules making up the building to be bolted together on site. Conventional construction materials such as gib, timber and insulation were then added to complete the building.
- Although the station is not open to the public, there will be a ‘call-box’ that connects to Police Comms located at the front door.
- Front counter services are provided from Napier and Hastings police stations.
- Police staff will be using the new station from Monday 8 June.
