Work has started to convert a former public loo into a police hub.

Planning permission for the change of use was granted in July this year and the public lavatories in Brenchley Gardens, Maidstone, will now become a police office for beat Bobbies patrolling the town centre, and a store and mess room for the borough council’s street cleansing team.

The toilet block, built in the 1960s, had already been closed for three years as a result of persistent vandalism. Brenchley Gardens themselves have gained a reputation for crime and anti-social behavior over the past few years and it is hoped that an immediate police presence there, plus other measures recently taken by the council such as the installation of new gates and CCTV, will help to reduce the problem.

The gardens were created in 1871 and are named after the Maidstone-based explorer Julius Brenchley.

Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) welcomed work starting on the new police office, but was less keen on some other aspects.

He said: “Let us hope that the initiation of this project marks a change in the fortunes of this once lovely park.

“After the police facility is in place, the restoration of the fabric of Brenchley Garden including the lost pond, trees and wildflower meadow must quickly follow.”

“The removal of the visually intrusive and frankly dystopian CCTV and loud speaker columns would also help to make the park feel less menacing. They are like something from Orwell’s novel 1984.”

When elected as council leader in May, 2021, Cllr David Burton (Con) pledged to “displace the darkness that lurks in certain places in the town," citing Brenchley Gardens as one of the places he had in mind.