Pudsey police station is set to be transformed into one of the main policing hubs serving north west Leeds.

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Over the next six months the Dawson's Corner site will undergo a major refurbishment programme as part of a £2.5m revamp.

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The station will house a purpose-built 22-cell custody complex which will replace the division's current custody facilities at Weetwood police station and its share of Leeds Bridewell in the city centre.

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The West Outer and West Inner neighbourhood policing teams and the public helpdesk facility based at Pudsey will continue to operate from temporary accommodation on the site during the redevelopment.

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Other officers and staff based at the station will remain on site and return to the main building once work is complete at the end of the year.

Letters are being sent to residents living nearby to keep them informed about the development.

Chief Supt Ian Whitehouse, divisional commander for north west Leeds, said: "This is a landmark development for the division that will provide us with vastly improved custody facilities at one central location.

"Our existing custody facilities are becoming outdated and will soon need to be replaced and are inconveniently split between two sites.

"The creation of one central location with state-of-the-art facilities will help to make our officers more effective and efficient and better able to serve local communities.

"I am keen to stress that it will be very much business as usual during the redevelopment work."

The first phase is under way and in July six temporary buildings will go into the front car park to accommodate the Neighbourhood Policing Team and helpdesk.

In August, demolition work will begin on some of the ground-floor buildings. This will be carried out during normal daytime working hours and will take one to two weeks.

The pre-fabricated units will then be lifted into place to create the new custody complex and staff will move back into the station in October.