CAMBOURNE S new police station will be the greenest in the county when it opens next year and will be used as the force s environmental flagship . The �1.4million building, which is being built at the junction of Sackville Way and Back Lane, will provi

CAMBOURNE'S new police station will be the greenest in the county when it opens next year and will be used as the force's "environmental flagship".

The �1.4million building, which is being built at the junction of Sackville Way and Back Lane, will provide offices for the Cambourne neighbourhood policing team.

Building work is due to be completed in April 2010, followed by three weeks of fitting the interiors, with the station opening to the public in late May.

The building is part of the settlement's masterplan and was being paid for through a Section 106 (developer contribution) agre, and air-source heating, which absorbs heat from the outside air to heat the building.

There had also been plans for the police station to generate its own power from a wind turbine, but that part of the scheme has been shelved.

However, a spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police Authority said that, despite the lack of a wind turbine - which was dropped because of costs - the new building would still be one of the "most environmentally friendly" buildings in its portfolio.

She said: "It is a two-storey, 500sq metre building incorporating a sleek, contemporary design using slate, copper and glass. It will also feature an atrium-like link, built from glass, and will take advantage of renewable energy solar panels and air-source heating."

According to planning documents the station will act as an "environmental flagship" for the constabulary.

The plans state: "The goals were to provide a focal point for the police in the neighbourhood and to produce a structure that is not only functional and aesthetically pleasing but also shows imaginative use of space and a conceptual awareness on projecting the constabulary's image in the community, and to provide an environmental flagship."