AN MP has offered to give up his own town centre office for a police base after West Yorkshire Police today announced it is selling off its stations in Keighley and Bingley.

They are among a total of seven properties to be offloaded by the Force.

It says the move will help save money and divert more resources into frontline policing.

Airedale House police station in Royd Ings Avenue, Keighley, will be sold off once alternative arrangements for the Neighbourhood Policing Team and helpdesk have been found.

Bingley Police Station in Bradford Road is linked to the town’s former court building which shut in December 2011. The station has not been used for the deployment of officers since 2015.

Police section boxes in Wyke, Fartown, Milnsbridge and Moldgreen will also be sold.

Airedale House was opened in 2005 as the divisional headquarters of Keighley police. It then became the headquarters of Airedale & North Bradford Police until 2014 when Trafalgar House station in Bradford became the headquarters of the newly-formed Bradford District police division.

But its sell-off has been fiercely criticised by the town’s MP John Grogan as alternative premises have yet to be found.

Mr Grogan said: “I have had assurances from the police and from the office of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner that the police station will not be sold off in Keighley until a long-term alternative has been identified.

“Despite this I am not at all happy that the police estates department, which has the responsibility to find a new site, has seemingly made little progress to date in doing so.

“If a town centre site for a new Keighley police station can be found it would in fact be a lot more visible than the current station which has been half empty since the divisional command was concentrated in Bradford.

“I have offered to move out of my own new offices in the Keighley Civic Centre if the police want to occupy part of what was the old police station.

“Whatever the solution it needs to be reached with some urgency otherwise all the recent good news about increased police numbers in Keighley risks been undermined.”

Mr Grogan added: “Many people including myself have been talking about this issue since 2015. I have arranged a meeting with Bradford Police Chief Superintendent Scott Bisset on his return from holiday to urge him to encourage his colleagues in the estates department to make this task their number one priority- the people of Keighley deserve nothing less.”

Shipley MP Philip Davies said it was sad Bingley police station was closing but he could reluctantly understand the decision.

He said: “My view is that neighbourhood policing is more than whether or not we see a police officer, it is about how safe the public feel.

“The closure of the police station does not make the public feel safe, it makes the police feel more remote. It is a sad situation and not one I would support.

“But the reality of the situation is that they don’t use Bingley police station anymore. It is an empty building.

“Is there any point in West Yorkshire Police keeping a building that they are not using?

“In a tight financial climate, it makes sense to sell it.”

West Yorkshire Deputy Chief Constable John Robins assured that policing will not suffer.

“Response times will not change as a result of these plans and the existing operational deployment centres, which are not changing, will ensure we continue to police all areas effectively,” he said.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson added: “This is not just about the money, although we have had to face challenges as our budget has been reduced by about £140 million since 2010, this is about providing newer and better placed police buildings for our officers and staff to work from.

“The estates plan builds on a more efficient and effective approach to policing the communities of West Yorkshire ensuring people across the county are safe and feel safe.”