Kent Police Sold Off Part of Its Maidstone HQ for £16.2m - and the Demolition Papers Reveal Barratt Redrow Is Behind It

Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner has sold off part of the force's historic Maidstone headquarters site for £16.2 million - and wouldn't say who bought it. But the demolition application the buyer has since filed with the council does: the drawings attached to it carry the Barratt Redrow logo throughout, and the covering letter names the applicant outright. It's the clearest sign yet of what's coming to one of the borough's most prominent public-sector sites, even though a full housing scheme hasn't been submitted for approval yet.

The land runs along the northern boundary of Kent Police Headquarters on Sutton Road, between the main site and Grove Road. PCC Matthew Scott's office says it included a number of under-used buildings and a field that had hosted force sporting events and, more recently, car parking during Kent Police's annual Open Days.

The sale completed on 26 June 2026, following what the PCC's office describes as six years of consultation with the force over reducing the site's footprint while keeping its central headquarters function. The buyer hasn't been named - the PCC's press release states: “At this time details of the buyer will not be provided.”

PCC Matthew Scott said: “I am grateful to all those who have been involved in this complex process... The decision to sell this particular parcel of land ensures that the force and the Chief Constable have the operational headquarters they require now and for the future while ensuring that financially it remains efficient, effective and provides the best possible financial outcome for the taxpayers of Kent.”

The £16.2 million won't go towards day-to-day policing costs. The PCC's office says the funds will be used to reduce the need to borrow for capital programmes in 2026/27 and 2027/28, and specifically cannot be used to support the ongoing revenue budget - including items like pay.

Maidstone Borough Council's own planning register shows a live application for the wider Kent Police Headquarters site: a prior notification for the demolition of “a series of redundant buildings across the Site”, reference 26/503748/DEMREQ, currently listed as Pending Decision. It follows an earlier, already-approved application from 2022 covering the demolition of several two-storey brick structures and a large telecoms mast.

The demolition application's covering letter, written by planning agent DHA Planning, is more direct than the PCC's press release: “I write regarding the above to provide the requisite prior notification that BDW Trading Limited (care of Barratt David Wilson Homes Kent Division) intend to demolish the redundant buildings formerly associated with the Kent Police Headquarters at Sutton Road Maidstone.” The accompanying site drawings carry the Barratt Redrow logo in their title block throughout.

The same letter confirms the land is formally allocated for a mixed-use development under Policy LPRSA362 of the Maidstone Local Plan Review - and is explicit that the demolition is "intended to take place prior to any planning application on the Site being submitted and determined", i.e. clearing the ground ahead of a housing scheme rather than as part of one. No planning application for an actual housing scheme has been submitted yet, so we still don't have a unit count, timeline or design to report - we'll follow up once one lands on the council's register.

The council's own planning history for the land behind the headquarters shows this isn't a new idea. Back in 2020, the force sought an Environmental Impact Assessment screening opinion for the “Redevelopment of Existing Kent Police Headquarters to provide up to 350 dwellings” (ref. 20/503146/ENVSCR) - the council decided no further assessment was required. A separate, smaller outline application that same year, for up to 112 homes and a car park on part of the site including the demolition of two police dwellings in Weald Close, was refused (ref. 20/501426/OUT). Neither of those applications is still live, and neither necessarily reflects what's now planned following this year's land sale - but combined with the site's formal Local Plan housing allocation, they show the principle of major redevelopment here has effectively already been accepted.

Source: Office of the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and Maidstone Borough Council's planning register, application 26/503748/DEMREQ, including its covering letter and demolition plan (references 20/503146/ENVSCR and 20/501426/OUT are historical and no longer retrievable via the council's live online portal)