Police confirm closure of stations in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Lanarkshire

Police Scotland has confirmed the closure of three police stations in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Lanarkshire.

Balerno station in Edinburgh, Seaton in Aberdeen and Carluke in South Lanarkshire will be closed as the force looks to save money amid major budget concerns.

Balerno has been described as “historically underutilised” and hasn’t been used as an operational response station for several years. Officers currently deploy from Wester Hailes which is less than five miles away and has the nearest public counter.

Due to extensive water damage, Carluke hasn’t been fully operational for three years.

Local community officers have been deploying from Lanark police station, which is the main response hub for the area and nearest public counter.

Seaton station is a leased space within Seaton Primary School and was last in operational use in response to the Covid pandemic in 2020/21.

Officers previously based at the location relocated to other city stations, such as Tillydrone, which is less than two miles away.

A public consultation was launched on a local and national level to gauge opinion on the potential closures.

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Comments received on Balerno and Carluke found that both stations inspired feelings of safety and provided a deterrent for crime.

However, they were also seen to be of “limited use”.

There was agreement for the closure Seaton due to the fact it doesn’t provide community services.

Speaking about the approved disposal, superintendent David Happs said: “Police Scotland inherited a very large and ageing estate, much of which was not fit for purpose, with high maintenance costs and environmental inefficiencies.

“Our building in Balerno has not been used as an operational response police station for many years and the officers based there were transferred to Wester Hailes which is less than five miles away.

“With advances in digital technology, officers are no longer tied to working from police buildings. A lot of the paperwork side of policing can now be done directly into mobile devices that officers carry with them. Our officers therefore spend much of their time out in communities dealing with calls and helping the public.

“Balerno has continued to incur day to day running costs and ongoing repairs and maintenance, which is not best use of public funds.

“I realise the physical police presence of the building has provided reassurance and confidence to the local community over the years however I would like to assure local residents that our officers will continue to be active, visible and accessible.

“Our officers based at Wester Hailles will continue to cover the Balerno area and the public will receive the same high level of service.

“We’ve been reviewing the buildings we have across the Aberdeen area and how we use them. We considered where we would want to locate our people to be as effective and efficient as possible. This work has allowed us to identify buildings which we believe are no longer required.

“We recognised that having lots of small teams spread across the city restricted information sharing, learning and also impacted on the wellbeing of our staff.

“For that reason, the officers who were based at Seaton moved to Tillydrone just over two years ago.

“Creating a larger team at Tillydrone, which serves the Tillydrone, Powis and Seaton areas, has created a more efficient and effective policing service for these communities. Our officers also benefit personally from being within a larger group of colleagues.”

The consultations on Whinhill, Torry, Rosemount and Mastrick police stations also closed on February 18, however final recommendations on these locations are still to be determined.

Superintendent Happs added: “Our building in Carluke suffered significant water damage and has not been used as an operational police station for the last three years. The building is in a significant state of disrepair and does not provide a suitable working environment for our officers and staff.

“The officers previously based there were transferred to Lanark and have continued to provide a policing service to surrounding areas.

“Although it has been vacant, Carluke has continued to incur day to day running costs and ongoing repairs and maintenance, which is not best use of public funds.

“Our officers based at Lanark will continue to cover the Carluke area, as they have been doing, and the public will receive the same high level of service.”

The Scottish Police Authority has this week approved plans to dispose of the three stations.