Involving You in Shaping The Future of Our Estate

Overview

BSL video - Overview

 

Police Scotland’s 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.

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.

 

 

Why we need to look at our estate

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.

At the same time, 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.

The communities we serve are therefore at the heart of our Estate Strategy.

Police Scotland inherited a very large and ageing estate, much of which was not fit for purpose, with high maintenance costs, environmental inefficiencies, and in locations that no longer meet the requirements of local communities.

Over the last few years operational bases have gradually been created at key buildings within communities and co-located with our partners, which has meant that we now have a number of properties that are underutilised. We also have instances where we have retained multiple operational bases, which are less than five miles apart.

Our future estate 

Our strategy seeks to move towards more police stations co-located with partners where possible, to ensure services are delivered in the most efficient and effective way.

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 sustainable.

Taking every opportunity to co-locate with partners is not only the best way to deliver savings to the public purse, it also facilitates more integrated and effective public services with better outcomes, particularly for the vulnerable in our society.

Our budget also means we have to make choices

Hard choices are already being taken to deliver effective policing within the revenue budget available to us.

We are prioritising issues which encounter the greatest demand and which carry the greatest risk in keeping people safe, including by maximising officer availability in the communities they serve. Doing so will allow us to protect frontline policing and service delivery.

We now plan to accelerate the proposed disposal of a further 59 police buildings over the next three years.

More information on the numbers of buildings

Of these buildings:

  • 29 will now be going out for community and officers and staff engagement and consultation – these are the buildings we announced recently that would be coming forward for disposal.
  • 16 will be 'business-as-usual' disposals – all are either long term vacant or vacant because of a move to a new site which has already taken place. We will also be consulting on them through this platform.
  • 14 will be from future Estates Transformation projects which will see plans brought forward for Scottish Police Authority approval in due course. We will also be consulting on these changes through this platform.
Station Local Policing Division Current Front Counter / Opening hours Front counter usage Local Policing Base (Y/N) Proposed destination
29 buildings proposed for closure/disposal
Castlemilk Greater Glasgow Yes - 0900-1700 Mon-Fri (not Wednesday) Low No. Community police drop-in facility only. Cathcart
Saracen Greater Glasgow Yes - 0900 – 1700 hours – Monday to Friday Low No Baird St or Maryhill
Bishopbriggs Greater Glasgow Yes - Monday – Sunday 0800 – 1600 Low Yes. Community policing, community campus, licensing Kirkintilloch
Milngavie Greater Glasgow Yes -  Monday – Sunday 0800 – 1600 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 – 0700-0000 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 hrs 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 hrs. Medium Yes. Response, community policing, divisional management team and CID TBC
Dumbarton Argyll & West Dunbartonshire Yes – 0800-1800 (12.30-13.30 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  0700 hours to midnight – however 9 days per month only open 0700 hours – 1600pm 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 0900-1700 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 approx.. 20 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
16 properties which are already vacant or are plots of land with no buildings.
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

We understand and are sensitive to community concerns around changes involving police buildings and as we bring forward proposals we will engage and consult with the public. Involving the public, communities and partners in the way we do things is vital if we are to maintain public confidence in policing.

Our Joint Strategy for Policing 2023 sets out the strategic outcomes we seek for the service. 

We are inviting everyone to get involved in the following activities 

Our National Conversation

We have launched a National Conversation about our estate.

It has been four years since the launch of our Estate Strategy and it's a good opportunity to check how our changes over the last few years are being experienced by communities. We also want to involve you and gather your feedback on progress. 

Consultation on each building

A local consultation on each building where there is a proposed change is available.

We want to listen to everyone and take your views into account for each of the buildings we have proposed. We will make sure you have all the information you need to inform your response and the buildings we are consulting on will be updated regularly as more information comes available. 

You can view an overview and update presentation on our National Estates Programme during the Scottish Police Authority Resources Committee Meeting on 13 March 2024.

This platform is not for reporting crime

Reporting a crime or providing information about an incident

Please note that this platform is not for reporting crime, providing information about an incident, or asking us for help. To find out ways to contact the police, please visit our website. If you or someone else needs police assistance, please dial 101, or in an emergency use 999. 

Accessible formats

This information is available in Easy Read. If you need this, you can download it from the bottom of this page. 

BSL videos are embedded throughout our National Conversation activity and people who use BSL are invited to contribute their views on any local buildings or police estate in general via this activity. Consultations on each building are moving quickly and the information about each evolves as each building consultation becomes live. Therefore, it would be not be helpful to have out of date information within our BSL videos. The turnaround time to have BSL videos created is a challenge for us. We are continually trying to improve the accessibility of our engagement with technology available to us. Please get in touch and we will do our very best to help you.

Please use the contact details on this page if you need to complete the survey in a different way. You might find helpful information on our accessibility page.

If you need any further guidance or have any questions, please get in touch.

Areas

  • All Areas

Audiences

  • Anyone from any background

Interests

  • Public consultation