WICKFORD Police Station is to go on to the open market for sale.

It comes after the front counter of the station in London Road was closed to the public in November 2011.

Police are aiming to fetch £750,000 for the site.

The force has defended its plans to cut the number of stations two years ago, believing residents prefer to call them or visit online.

Wickford station is one of several being sold as the estate is reduced from 80 to approximately 30 buildings. 

Essex Police says it costs £10million a year in running costs to manage its building, and that they would require £30million of maintenance work to bring them up to standard.

Chief Inspector Sam Smith, District Commander for Basildon, says the money can be "better invested in preventing and fighting crime by recruiting officers and investing in technology to help them do their job."

She said: “We know that people are attached to their local police stations, but the reality is that policing is not reliant on buildings.

“The community want local, visible and accessible policing, and Wickford will continue to be policed by dedicated officers.

“These dedicated officers will respond to emergencies, investigate crimes, work to resolve local problems and work alongside partners to protect people from harm and prevent crime occurring.

“To further enable us to keep officers on the frontline and more visible to the communities they serve, Essex Police has given all 2,000 of its uniformed officers’ smartphones.

“These phones enable officers to perform key policing tasks without having to return to police stations, meaning they have more time to fight crime and more time to spend on patrol.

Roger Hirst, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “We need to invest our resources in the areas that are going to make the most difference to our communities.

"We shouldn’t be investing the resources we have in maintaining buildings we don’t use when we can instead support our front line officers by providing them with better technology, helping them stay more visible and providing a better service for the people of Essex.”

Residents wishing to visit a police station can visit Basildon which provides a front counter service from 9am to 5pm seven days a week.

People can also report crime by phoning 101 or via the Essex Police website www.essex.police.uk