Almost three years ago, Heswall Police Station on Telegraph Road was placed on the market by the Merseyside Police Crime and Commissioner's Office.

This left us speculating on what would become of one of Heswall's few distinctive buildings - designed by the respected architect Harry Beswick, with a facade that, in its own way, is a key feature of the town.

In August 2018, the Heswall Society tried valiantly to have the station listed, but was rebuffed by Historic England.

Since then, the building and associated car park currently at the disposal of Marks and Spencer shoppers, has been taken off the market, meaning the old cop shop is not only decaying but also, literally, a sad waste of space.

When offered for sale, a Planning Appraisal carried out by Nexus Planning in Manchester stated that the following uses would be the 'most logical'.

A CONVENIENCE RETAIL STORE – the report said: "In this case [Wirral Council's Retail and Leisure Study of 2016] confirmed there is a perceived capacity to accommodate new convenience retail floorspace of around 2,000 square metres, some of which could be accommodated at the site. A small format convenience store is therefore considered an appropriate use in planning terms, subject to detailed access and design issues."

APARTMENTS – said the report: "The conversion of the existing building into apartments is clearly a possibility, subject to viability considerations. If, however, demolition is the preferred option then given the attractive design and overall appearance of the existing building, a replacement scheme would need to make a positive contribution to the street scene in design terms. Policy SH6 (Wirral Council's strategy for development within primarily commercial areas) does not specifically preclude a 100% residential scheme. Also, the current use as a Police Station does not make a contribution towards the vitality of the high street and so no detriment would exist in this regard, i.e. a traditional town centre use will not be lost and replaced with a non-town centre use." (It's not clear if the writer of the report was aware that the building's life as a police station ended in 2015.)

OTHER TOWN CENTRE USES – These might be "offices, restaurants, gymnasiums and health centres. It is considered that a hotel use would also be acceptable in this location."

Today the bottom line is that no such scheme took off when the station was up for sale, and none can even taxi to the runway while it's off the market.

This does beg a big question, but in the light of the Community Ownership Fund announced in the recent Budget, and following the example set by other small towns breathing new life into old buildings - the Beacon Arts Village in Hoylake springs to mind - could Heswall reinvent the police station and find ways of funding the project?

On the face of it, perhaps it's beyond us - but if you don't ask, you don't get.

One thought from Heswall Nub News: there isn't much for under-18s to do in Heswall. How about a centre that serves an older audience Monday to Friday daytime, and younger people in the evenings and at weekends?

The Police and Crime Commissioner should view this favourably - young people need places to go to stay out of trouble.

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