The new Morisset police station opened at the corner of Dora and Short streets last Monday, and station co-ordinator Senior Constable Leanne Tunbridge said the response from the community had been “very positive”.

“There’s been a lot of people coming in and saying just how much they appreciate having a police station in Morisset again,” Senior Constable Tunbridge said.

The procession of well-wishers started on the morning the station opened.

“We’ve also had a lot of phone calls from community members with a lot of positive feedback.”

Morisset had been without a police station since last June when the old station, on the same site, was closed for demolition.

The new Morisset station is part of a $29 million spend by the state government on the Lake Macquarie Local Area Command. Belmont’s new command headquarters opened in November, and construction has started on a new Toronto station.

Senior Constable Tunbridge said the new Morisset station was an impressive place to work.

“It’s a great facility,” she said.

“We have the Public Transport Command, the Dog Squad, and general duties crews who start and finish here each day.”

Local business owners have told the Lakes Mail that simply seeing police officers in and around the shops at Morisset had lifted the mood of the town.

Southlake Business Chamber and Community Alliance acting president Bruce Baylis said having police return to Morisset was “most welcome”.

Mr Baylis and some colleagues plan to visit the new station next week to greet officers on behalf of the chamber.

“Although I’ve not yet been inside the new station, as far as the community is concerned it is a very welcome building,” he said.

“And I’m very grateful to see the number of police around Morisset now.”

Not long after the station opened Mr Baylis said he saw officers “interviewing some young people” on a bench outside the Dora Street shops.

Mr Baylis said residents of the Silverwater and Bonnells Bay areas had also noticed an increased police presence.

“Those areas had long been considered the poor cousins as far as policing is concerned,” he said.

The chamber had contacted Lake Macquarie Local Area Commander Superintendent Brett Greentree about those concerns, and had been buoyed by the police chief’s response.

“We’ve seen more police cars in those areas in the last couple of weeks, and more police numbers generally, which is very gratifying,” Mr Baylis said.

An official opening of the station is expected in August.