CONSULTATION PLANS TO BE ANNOUNCED
Police Scotland today (Thursday, 14 December, 2023) announced plans to consult and engage the public on proposals to close a number of properties across the country.
The Service has published details of 29 police stations and other buildings which it says are now surplus to requirements, with officers and staff being moved to other locations. Of these buildings three are already vacant and 14 others have no public access.
The Edinburgh stations listed as ‘surplus to requirements’ are Balerno, Fettes, Leith, Portobello and West End.
In addition, Police Scotland will carry out consultation and engagement on a further 16 properties, which are all already vacant or are plots of land with no buildings. As such there is no public access to these properties.
Plans to close a further 14 properties will be brought forward at a later date.
Properties have been selected for potential disposal under the Service’s estate strategy, which seeks to move toward co-location with partners where possible to ensure services are delivered in the most efficient and effective way.
As part of the review, local Divisional Commanders have been asked to identify where they would want to locate their resources to better meet the demands of 21st century policing and to highlight any buildings in their areas that are underused, surplus to requirements or where there could be opportunities to rationalise buildings or co-locate with partners.
Deputy Chief Constable, Malcolm Graham said: “Our estate needs to be fit for 21st century policing, putting service enhancement, visibility, and engagement at the heart of the communities we serve.
“These are core components of the legitimacy and consent on which policing in Scotland relies.
“Our presence in communities is not defined by buildings but by the officers and staff who work there, and we have already introduced technology that enables our officers to remain in local areas, reducing the need for them to return to police stations to deal with paperwork.
“We are determined to continue to improve our visibility and accessibility, as well as to bring partners together to deliver services in the most efficient and effective way.
“The buildings in which our officers and staff work need to be safe, functional spaces, and they need to be sustainable and adaptable enough to meet changing public expectations and the changing nature of policing.”
He added: “Police Scotland inherited a very large and ageing estate, much of which was not fit for purpose, with high maintenance costs and environmental inefficiencies.
“The locations of many inherited buildings no longer meet the requirements of local communities and in some cases the organisation is currently maintaining multiple buildings in the same geographic area, less than five miles apart.
“Some of the buildings are just a few miles apart, others are used by only a handful of police officers or staff and have no public access, while many are rarely visited by a member of the public.
“For the majority of properties, the proposed moves will be an average of four miles from their current location.
“Local communities will therefore continue to receive the same high level of service from officers, and still from within their local area.
“We now have more than 60 co-locations with partners, providing more sustainable, more modern, and safer workspaces for our people.
“We have great examples of successful partnerships in the North East, Perthshire, Forth Valley, and Ayrshire among others and this will continue to be an important part of ensuring policing in Scotland is prepared for the future.
“We understand and are sensitive to community concerns around changes involving police buildings and as we bring forward proposals we wish to communicate our proposals to the public and our staff and seek their feedback. Please do view our plans and let us know your thoughts.”
The financial savings of these property disposals would be re-invested into providing policing services.
As part of our ongoing transformation work Police Scotland is in the early stages of progressing plans for other sites across the country. As plans are developed and submitted for approval to the Scottish Police Authority they will undertake consultation with local communities, key stakeholders and trade unions, statutory staff associations, and impacted staff.
Police Scotland added: ‘We they continuously review our estate as part of our normal business and this will continue. As part of this work, we may identify other properties that are considered surplus and appropriate engagement and consultation will be undertaken.’
To review the proposals and have your say visit our engagement hub:
The 29 buildings proposed for closure/disposal are:
| Station | Local Policing Division | Current Front Counter / Opening hours | Front counter usage | Local Policing Base (Yes or No) | Proposed destination |
| Castlemilk | Greater Glasgow | Yes – 9am – 5pm Monday -Friday (not Wednesday) | Low | No. Community police drop-in facility only. | Cathcart |
| Saracen | Greater Glasgow | Yes – 9am – 5pm – Monday to Friday | Low | No | Baird St or Maryhill |
| Bishopbriggs | Greater Glasgow | Yes – Monday – Sunday 8am – 4pm | Low | Yes. Community policing, community campus, licensing | Kirkintilloch |
| Milngavie | Greater Glasgow | Yes – Monday – Sunday 8am – 4pm | Low | Yes. Community policing. | Kirkintilloch |
| Stewart Street | Greater Glasgow | Yes – 24/7 front counter service | High | Yes. Response, community policing, divisional management team and CID | Baird St |
| Gorbals | Greater Glasgow | Yes – 7am-12am all week | Medium / low | Yes. Response, community policing | Cathcart |
| Baillieston | Greater Glasgow | Temporarily closed. | N/A | Yes. Response, Community policing | Shettleston |
| Pacific Quay | Greater Glasgow | No | N/A | No. Base for corporate staff. | Dalmarnock |
| Paisley | Renfrewshire & Inverclyde | Yes – 24 hours | Medium | Yes. Response, community policing, divisional management team and CID | TBC |
| Ferguslie Park | Renfrewshire & Inverclyde | No | N/A | Community Policing / Alcohol and Violence Reduction Unit | TBC |
| Greenock | Renfrewshire & Inverclyde | Yes – 24 hours. | Medium | Yes. Response, community policing, divisional management team and CID | TBC |
| Dumbarton | Argyll & West Dunbartonshire | Yes – 8am-6pm (12.30pm-1.30pm – lunchtime closing) | Low | Yes. Response, community policing, divisional management team and CID | TBC |
| Alexandria | Argyll & West Dunbartonshire | No front counter or public access. | N/A | Yes, Response, Community policing | TBC |
| Ayr | Ayrshire | No | No | No. Already closed and new facility in Ayr has opened. Old site proposed for demolition. | N/A |
| Balerno | Edinburgh City | No | N/A | No. Building was used as a base for 10 officers for social distancing purposes during the pandemic but was previously vacant. Officers will be relocated nearby. | TBC |
| Fettes | Edinburgh City | Yes | Medium – High Most public footfall relates to Lost property /Productions / Firearms licensing enquiries. | Yes | TBC |
| Leith | Edinburgh City | Yes – 7am hours to midnight – however nine days per month only open 7am – 4pm | High – Public enquiries relate to lost/found property / reporting crime, neighbour disputes, MIT enquiries etc. Station also located on tram line and near to Edinburgh’s most densely populated community. | Yes | TBC |
| West End | Edinburgh City | Yes – Open Monday -Friday 9am-5pm | Medium –Public enquiries relate to lost/found property / reporting crime etc. | Yes | TBC |
| Portobello | Edinburgh City | TBC | |||
| Oakley | Fife | No | N/A | No. Used by Operational Support Division officers. | TBC |
| Muir of Ord | Highlands and Islands | No | N/A | No. Used by officer/staff member but not local policing. | Dingwall or Inverness |
| Mastrick | North East | No | N/A | Yes | TBC |
| Rosemount | North East | No | N/A | Not presently – no officers currently stationed nor deployed from there but used periodically as stop point. | NA |
| Seaton | North East | No | N/A | Yes | TBC |
| Whinhill | North East | No | N/A | Yes | TBC |
| Torry | North East | No | N/A | Yes | Nigg |
| Dundee Annexe | Tayside | Yes – no counter staff. Responded to by dept staff /officers. | Low | No | West Bell Street |
| Ryehill | Tayside | No | N/A | No – limited use of building. | West Bell Street |
| Hilltown | Tayside | Yes – public counter not staffed. Officers answer the door to members of the public. | Medium | No. Functions as a space for comfort breaks for operational officers. | West Bell Street |
The 16 properties which are already vacant or are plots of land with no buildings are:
| Station | Local Policing Division | Current Front Counter / Opening hours | Front counter usage | Local Policing Base (Yes or No) | Proposed destination |
| Anderston | Greater Glasgow | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building has been vacant for more than two years. Officers/staff who worked there now deploy from various police stations around Glasgow. Building is under offer, sale to complete this FY pending planning approval. | N/A |
| Partick (land) | Greater Glasgow | No – land has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. We are disposing of a pocket of land next to police station only as it is not required. Police station is being retained. | N/A |
| Maybole | Ayrshire | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant since 2022 when Officers/staff moved to new co-location with South Ayrshire Council in 2022. | N/A |
| Kilwinning | Ayrshire | No – Building vacant and will be declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant since 2023, officers and staff now deploy from Irvine | N/A |
| Kirkcudbright | Dumfries and Galloway | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant for more three years, we are now co-located with SFRS in Kirkcudbright. | N/A |
| Tarbert Office | Argyll & West Dunbartonshire | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant for more 5 years, officers deploy from Lochgilphead. | N/A |
| Dalmally | Argyll & West Dunbartonshire | No – Building vacant and will be declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant, and local consultation is ongoing. Building is a small police house/station (1 police officer), the previous officer has moved out and this area will be resourced from Oban Police Station. | N/A |
| Port Glasgow | Renfrewshire & Inverclyde | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building vacant for more than five years, officers/staff now deploy from Greenock. | N/A |
| Burntisland | Fife | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building has been vacant for more than three years, officers who worked there now deploy from Kirkcaldy.Building under offer to complete this year. | N/A |
| Alloa | Forth Valley | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. This building is still in partial use by specialist officers although we expect to be vacated this month. Local officers vacated in 2021 to move into a co-location with Clackmannanshire Council. | N/A |
| Linlithgow | Lothians and Scottish Borders | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building has been vacant for more 6 years. Officer/staff deploy from other nearby police stations.Remarketing of the building is under way. | N/A |
| Coldstream | Lothians and Scottish Borders | No – Building vacant and will be declared Surplus | N/A | No. Building has been vacant for more than 4 years. Officer/staff deploy from other nearby police stations. | |
| Whalsay | Highlands and Islands | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | Building is a small property on an island off Shetland that has been vacant for more than a year. Officer/staff located on mainland Shetland.Sale negotiations are ongoing. | N/A | |
| Lairg | Highlands and Islands | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | No. Building has been vacant for more than three years. Officer/staff now deploy from other stations within the division. Re-marketing or auction to be progressed. | N/A | |
| Peterhead | North East | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | No. Building has been vacant for more than 18 months, officers/staff deploying out of Buchan House where we co-locate with Aberdeenshire Council. Re-marketing or auction of building to be progressed. | N/A | |
| Portlethen | North East | No – Building vacant and has been declared Surplus | No. Building has been vacant since this year, officers/staff now deploying from Stonehaven. Marketing under way. | N/A |
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