Tidworth is to receive a £7 million civic centre after the town council and police joined forces to create the plans.

The new building is to be erected on the site of the current community centre in Tidworth, and will sit next to the war memorial erected in 2017.

The building will combine both a community centre for the town, which is planned to contain a main hall, community radio, council offices and meeting rooms alongside facilities for the area’s community policing team. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire, Angus Macpherson, will fund a third of the cost of the new centre.

The Mayor of Tidworth, Cllr Mark Connolly, said "Tidworth Town Council are excited at the prospect of the joint Civic Centre and CPT project. Having Wiltshire Police on board with the project is good for both partners and the community. Working together will mean we can deliver a project we and the town can be proud of.

"The Civic Centre will provide much more space and flexible use of its rooms for the community and community groups than the existing building. It will be a meeting place for all and a central hub for the community to come together."

The plans come as part of a review into Wiltshire Police’s estates strategy, being conducted by the PCC. As a result, the current touchdown station in the town will be replaced with the centre, while that in Amesbury will move to a more central location, with the previous stations being closed and sold.

This was said to be because the stations “were recognised as no longer meeting operational needs,” with Tidworth’s civic centre “the clear and obvious choice.”

Inspector Liz Coles for Amesbury CPT commented "There will be no change to the services we provide to our local communities. Both Amesbury and Tidworth CPTs will be briefed at the new Centre before they start their usual tour of the local areas.

"We'll still have a strong presence in the community with a centrally located touchdown point in Amesbury. The current station will only be closed once a suitable alternative site has been secured which we're hoping will be situated close to, or on, the high street. But this won't be for at least another 12 months or so."

A planning application for the new Community Civic Centre will be submitted shortly, and once approved, it should take around 14-15 months to build, with an expected completion date of 2023.