CUMBRIA'S Police and Crime Commissioner has guaranteed he will not sanction the closure of Ulverston police station if it means response times would be affected.

Richard Rhodes made the pledge at a meeting chaired by Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock at Croftlands Junior School in Ulverston tonight.

Superintendent Mark Pannone said targets of reaching incidents in rural areas in 20 minutes, and urban areas in 10 minutes, were currently met 90 per cent of the time.

It is expected Ulverston police station will close in wide-sweeping changes when the new Barrow police station opens in 2016 - leaving police without a full-time base.

But Mr Rhodes said there were plans to create a 'one-stop shop' to maintain a presence in the town.

"Areas where police stations have had to be closed there is a requirement for some kind of presence," he told the meeting of around 40 councillors, residents and police representatives.

"It would be based in the community but would not open 24 hours a day."

He added that despite Ulverston's station having a higher footfall than Kendal, the 'decaying state' of Ulverston's station and the closeness of Kendal to the M6 played a factor.

Mr Rhodes also said that Cumbria police must find a way to make £20m savings by 2017.

But Mr Woodcock said the scale of of the cuts should not affect frontline services.

"Whatever your view is about the scale or necessity of the cuts we are all part of the Ulverston community," he said.

"The bottom line is that they should not impact on frontline public services."