New £48m headquarters for Merseyside Police - everything you need to know about Rose Hill

Merseyside Police' s state-of-the-art new headquarters, Rose Hill, is officially open for business.

Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell and Chief Constable Serena Kennedy held a special ceremony as they took delivery of the new £48 million landmark headquarters from construction firm Willmott Dixon.

Rose Hill will bring more than 1,100 officers and police staff under one roof.

It will be the base for Merseyside Police's Chief Officer team and the teams that assist with Corporate Support and Development, ICT, finance, the corporate assets team, and the news and communications team.

Once the move is fully completed, it will save the force approximately £250,000 a year on its running costs.

It is also hoped that a large portion of the cost of the new headquarters will be recouped through the sale of Canning Place, described as “the best regeneration opportunity in the entire country”.

Construction on the eight-acre site began in September 2019 after Merseyside's previous Police Commissioner, Jane Kennedy, and former Chief Constable, Andy Cooke QPM, ceremonially turned the first sod at the brownfield site, which is adjacent to the force's existing station on St Anne Street.

Merseyside Police's Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: "Rose Hill is an absolutely amazing building which has been purpose-built to meet the needs of a modern police force dealing with the levels of demand, complexity and challenges that officers and staff face every day."

The new headquarters is named after a former police station, Rose Hill Bridewell, which operated from 1849 until August 1977. The site also features a memorial garden dedicated to the officers who have given their lives in public service.

The building has been designed to meet the latest standards in energy efficiency, including LED light throughout and 260 solar panels on the roof to make sure it is as cheap as possible to run.

The site also boasts 500 parking spaces, an external gym, a running track and an outdoor seating area, while 96 trees have been planted on the grounds.