ENGAGEMENT LAUNCHED TO INFORM PENISTONE RESIDENTS ABOUT RELOCATION OF NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM

Published 12 February 2026 at 12:05pm

Penistone residents are being invited to find out more about plans to relocate the local Neighbourhood Policing Team to Penistone Library. The focus is on listening to local views, explaining how neighbourhood policing will operate from the new Community Hub, and reassuring residents that there will be no reduction in service.

The relocation will see Penistone’s Neighbourhood Policing Team based at Penistone Library once refurbishment works are completed in early April. The library is being transformed into a Community Hub, bringing together a range of local services under one roof and providing a more accessible base in the heart of the town.

Importantly, there will be no reduction in neighbourhood policing provision as a result of the move and there will be no disruption to the continuity of service to the local community. Officers and PCSOs will continue to patrol Penistone and surrounding rural areas, respond to incidents in the same way as they do now, and remain visible and active within the community. Emergency response arrangements will remain unchanged, and residents will still be able to contact South Yorkshire Police via 101 and online services.

We will be undertaking public engagement at community events and the local PACT (Police & Community Together) meeting, as well as drop-in sessions for residents, businesses and community groups to ask questions and receive clear accurate information about the relocation. Over the next few weeks. This will be done alongside South Yorkshire Police, including members of the neighbourhood policing team and will focus on explaining how neighbourhood policing will continue to operate from the new location and on keeping local people informed about what the change means in practice. 

Being co-located within the Community Hub is expected to support closer collaboration with other services, increase opportunities for public-facing engagement, and make it easier for residents to interact with neighbourhood officers as part of their everyday use of the town centre. The neighbourhood policing team will be based within the new library facility alongside other services including youth provision, the Family Hub, NHS, public health and the Penistone Area Council.

The existing police station is not open to the public and has not had a front desk facility for a number of years. The building is a large, ageing property that is no longer suited to modern policing needs and is costly to maintain for the small number of staff based there. Relocating the team allows resources to be used more efficiently while protecting frontline policing and improving opportunities for joint working with partners. 

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kilvinder Vigurs, said: “This change will support the ongoing continuity of policing for the local community. It is really important that the people of Penistone are fully informed and reassured about how neighbourhood policing will continue locally. The move to the library is a change of base, not a reduction in service.

“Officers and PCSOs will remain just as visible and active in the community and co-locating within the new Community Hub creates opportunities for better partnership working and more day-to-day contact with residents.”

Information about engagement events and opportunities to ask questions will be shared through local media, community channels and online in the coming weeks.

Residents who want to find out more about the relocation can attend any of the following events to speak to staff, members of the Neighbourhood Policing Team and the Deputy Mayor.