Police Minister Troy Grant said the station and residence were “surplus to operational requirements” and there was a plan to “divest the property”.

The sell-off was detailed in a response to Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison’s question in Parliament about the future of the station.

She requested the information on August 6, but did not receive an answer from the minister until September.

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Residents started to question the future of the property and adjoining residence when the stationed officer moved out at the beginning of the year.

It has since come to light that the officer living at the site was renting the premises and was not formally ­stationed there.

The closure and sell-off came as a shock to local resident Pru Scott, who has campaigned for several months to see a new officer stationed at the Lochinvar site.

“There was no community consultation, they haven’t even told us that they planned to close it,” she said.

“The community needs the police presence here, we need [the station] to stay open.”

Ms Scott also questioned the foresight of the state government after it spent money to redevelop the site in 2010, only to close it four years later.

The Lochinvar station has long been a bone of contention with the local community, after it was declared ­uninhabitable in 2009 and earmarked for demolition.

Residents led a push to keep the site open, which prompted the refurbishment.

In 2011, a police presence returned to the station and a police officer moved in.

Ms Aitchison said the community needed more information about the decision to sell the site.

“I want to know the reasoning behind it,” she said. 

“If the decrease in the number of stations in the electorate means a decrease in police officers, this is a problem.”

It is not known when the station will be sold, or for how much.

The Mercury contacted the office of Mr Grant, and the NSW Police media unit, but did not get a response by the time of publication.