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Bath's police station is to be sold to the University of Bath, while adjoining land will be bought by the council in a £7m deal, the force has confirmed.

Contracts have been exchanged on the Manvers Street site and the sale is due to be finalised at the end of October.

In April, the force said it wanted to reduce the number of buildings it occupied across Bristol and Somerset by 36% by 2019.

It included closing 12 police stations in Bristol and Somerset to save money.

Ch Supt Caroline Peters, the new area commander, said the force "understood the importance" of having a police presence in Bath.

'Valuable site'

"Co-locating our enquiry office, and hopefully the city centre team, with the council will bring police and council services together in one place, making it easier for the public," she said.

Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mounstevens said it "no longer made sense" to keep such a valuable site that was only partly used.

Custody has already moved to the new police centre at Keynsham, while the enquiry office is due to move by the end of the year but will remain at the Bath station in the short-term.

Further changes will result in a new enquiry office co-located with Bath and North East Somerset Council on Manvers Street, and a new base for response and neighbourhood teams on the outskirts of the city centre.

The force said it hoped the enquiry office will move to Lewis House "by the end of the year", while the other moves could take up to 15 months.