Estates Consultation: Coldstream

Results updated 13 Dec 2024

The lease for Coldstream police station has recently ended and the property returned to the landowner.

A public consultation on Coldstream police station was launched at the start of the year, 65% agreed with the proposal to remove policing services from the building. You can access the full results of this consultation below.

The use of Coldstream police station was as a tenant under a historical lease agreement. The station has been vacant since 2016 and following the public consultation and internal estates review, the lease interest has now been officially handed back to the landowner.

Having a modern, fit for purpose estate supports our 2030 vision for safer communities, less crime and a thriving workforce. Coldstream police station was originally leased to the police in the 19^th century and designed to meet the needs of policing at that time. Coldstream no longer meets the demands or requirements of modern policing. Our business plan sets out the need to deliver a more effective and sustainable estate that supports the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and the communities we serve and reduces long term operating costs.

Chief Inspector Stuart Fletcher said: “Coldstream police station has not been used as base for local policing officers or served a purpose in policing the local community in eight years. 

“Officers deploy from Kelso police station, which is nine miles away and have continued to serve the surrounding areas with no reported issues. Coldstream has continued to incur daily expenses and ongoing maintenance. Retaining vacant and underutilised buildings is not a good use of public funds

“I realise that for many people the presence of a police building brings reassurance and confidence to their local area. However, our presence in communities is not defined by buildings but by the officers and staff who work in the area.

“With advances and investment in our fleet and digital technology our officers are no longer tied to working from police buildings. This means they have little need to return to the office, allowing them to be more present and responsive in the communities we serve.

“Officers will continue to be active, visible and accessible across the Borders and the public will receive the same high level of service from officers.

“Kelso police station will continue to be our main base for the local area. The front counter at Kelso is open from 8.00am until 3.30pm Monday to Friday.”

For non-emergencies and general enquiries, you can call 101, and 999 in the event of an emergency. If you are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or cannot communicate via speech you can utilise the text relay service on 18001101. For emergencies British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us by using 999 BSL. For non-emergencies BSL users can use Contact Scotland BSL. Both these sites are free to use.

Files:

• Coldstream - Consultation Report, 467.0 KB (PDF document)

Links:

• Read the latest news article on the Police Scotland website