A CARE home will be built on the site of a former town centre police station.

Newton Aycliffe Police Station was demolished in March and Durham Police has now sold the land on Central Avenue to Helen McArdle Care.

It is understood the company plans to develop a residential care home on the 1.1acre site, which was put on the market with commercial property agents GVA last September.

A spokesperson from Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg’s office said the value of the sale could not be revealed at this stage due to commercial sensitivity.

However, in March, Gary Ridley, assistant chief officer at Durham Police, said the sale would generate much needed resources for the force.

Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Police Team moved out of the Central Avenue station in February 2011 after the building, a three-storey office block dating back to the 1960s, was deemed unfit for purpose.

At the time, the force intended to build a new station to replace it but budget cuts meant these plans had to be shelved.

A spell at Parsons Court in Aycliffe Business Park proved unpopular with residents so in October 2013 the team moved into an office in the town’s fire station, next door to the old Central Avenue site.

Based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, Helen McArdle Care runs 17 care homes for the elderly across the North-East.