A new police hub is now hosted at Kirkbymoorside Fire Station as part of an initiative to increase officers’ presence in a rural part of Ryedale and to make it quicker to attend incidents.

The recently-established hub in Kirkbymoorside falls within a county-wide police project to reduce the disparity in response times between rural areas and urban centres across North Yorkshire.

Kirkbymoorside and Dales representative, Councillor Greg White, said: “As a former Special Constable and Police Authority Member, I know first-hand how much residents value the work of police officers, who regularly put themselves in harm's way to keep us all safe.

“The increased visibility of members of the police force in Kirkbymoorside and surrounding towns and villages together with their ability to respond more quickly to emergencies is fantastic news.”

Helmsley and Sinnington Councillor George Jabbour added: “Since my election last year, I have held regular discussions with North Yorkshire Police to raise the concerns of our rural communities. I also campaigned to introduce a police hub in our part of North Yorkshire and attended a number of meetings, including in Northallerton and in York to ask both Chief Superintendent Catherine Clarke and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe about this matter.

“Therefore, I am absolutely delighted that, following these conversations, a new police hub is now located at Kirkbymoorside as it occupies a strategic location for the various parishes that I represent given that it is situated between Helmsley and Sinnington.”

In response to a question from Cllr Jabbour, Chief Superintendent Catherine Clarke commented at a public meeting back in September that it had been “identified that there are some areas around North Yorkshire that don’t receive exactly the same response times” and that the police force “should be responding as equally as we can across the county”.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said: “My Police and Crime Plan and Fire and Rescue Plan both highlight the importance of maximising the efficiency and effective use of joint sharing of the estate and resources.

“I am very pleased that both services are using Kirkbymoorside fire station as an operational base, this will improve response times and visibility within the rural community.”

Inspector Martin Dennison, of Ryedale Police, said: “We welcome our new facility at Kirkbymoorside Fire Station which will help officers and staff to maintain a visible presence and respond swiftly to incidents in the more outlying and rural areas, including Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside itself.

“It is important to stress that this is an operational base only. There is no front counter or public access. Residents should continue to report non-emergency incidents via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101, option 4. Always remember to dial 999 for an emergency response.”