A public campaign has been launched in a bid to save Solihull Police Station following the submission of plans that could see the town centre building demolished and redeveloped.
Developer Opus Land has submitted proposals to replace the police station on Homer Road with a new five-storey office building and a multi-storey car park. The plans are currently being considered by Solihull Council.
The future of the site has been under discussion for several years. In 2018, the then West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Labour’s David Jamieson, agreed to sell the site as part of wider efforts to help the force achieve savings. Under the proposals, neighbourhood policing teams and the public contact office were expected to relocate locally, with Chelmsley Wood Police Station becoming the headquarters for policing teams serving the borough.
The sale was subsequently approved in 2023 by Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster and the West Midlands Police and Crime Board.
The current police station is expected to be vacated by 2027.
In response to the latest planning application, Reform UK Solihull has launched a borough-wide petition calling for the station to be retained unless a permanent replacement with equivalent public access and policing facilities is secured within Solihull town centre.
The campaign website argues that Solihull has benefited for many years from having a fully functioning police station at the heart of the town and warns that its loss could reduce accessibility to policing services for local residents.
A statement on the petition website says:
“Solihull has long depended on a properly resourced, in-town police station. Closing it would leave residents further from the help they need, and weaken the partnership between local officers and the community they serve.
“We are calling on Solihull Council and West Midlands Police to keep our station open, funded and accessible to the public. Your signature will be presented to the Council as part of a formal petition.”
Campaign organisers say they want Solihull Council and West Midlands Police to provide firm guarantees about future policing provision before any demolition takes place.
Councillor Samantha Gethen, leader of the Reform UK group on Solihull Council, said:
“Solihull deserves a permanent, visible police station at the heart of our town. Residents should not be expected to accept the loss of a landmark public building without absolute certainty that policing services will be protected for generations to come.
“People rightly want to see more police on our streets, not fewer visible policing facilities. We are asking residents from across the borough to stand with us by signing our petition and sending a clear message that Solihull’s police station should not disappear without proper guarantees for its replacement.”
Councillor Ian Brown, Reform UK’s spokesman for stronger communities and neighbourhood services, added:
“Once public assets like this are lost, they’re rarely replaced. Solihull has grown significantly over recent decades and our policing infrastructure should grow with it, not shrink.
“We recognise that buildings may need modernising, but any redevelopment must begin with the needs of residents and frontline policing, not simply with the value of the land. We urge Solihull Council and West Midlands Police to listen to local people before it’s too late.”
The petition calls on Solihull Council and West Midlands Police to work together to ensure a permanent, fully operational police station remains within Solihull town centre before any demolition work begins at the Homer Road site.
Residents wishing to comment on the proposals can view planning application PL/2026/01091/PPFL through Solihull Council’s planning portal. The consultation period is due to close on July 9.
Further information about the campaign, including details of the petition, is available via the Save Solihull Police Station website: https://savesolihullpolicestation.co.uk/
