New base for police on hold until creation of single force

Chief Reporter

Friday 17 February 2012

A RADICAL multimillion-pound plan to relocate Strathclyde Police headquarters has been shelved because the force will cease to exist next year.

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Lucy Adams Chief Reporter

So far, a feasibility study for the Strathclyde Police headquarters relocation to the east end of Glasgow has cost £1 million – paid for by urban regeneration company Clyde Gateway – but the Justice Secretary has said the decision can not be taken now because the eight forces are being amalgamated into one.

A decision on relocating from Pitt Street in central Glasgow to Dalmarnock, close to the epicentre of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, was due to be taken in January but members of Strathclyde Police Authority raised serious doubts about their jurisdiction to agree the sign-off.Kenny MacAskill has written to the board and the chief constable to clarify that they can not make a decision on the HQ and it will have to be put on hold until at least April 1, 2013, when the new Scottish Police Authority (SPA) is due to be created.He has also said that his preference would be for the national police HQ to be based at the police college at Tulliallan.Mr MacAskill's letter says: "We can also see the regeneration benefits of a significant new police building in Dalmarnock as part of the Clyde Gateway project. However, for the reasons set out above, we do not believe that the timing of a decision on the proposed building is right. The new building would constitute a significant liability for the single service and for the SPA. "Not only would the Scottish Police Authority be committed to making use of the building for many years to come, but it would also be committed to servicing the loans used to build it. "We are clear that a final decision on this project should be put on hold until the SPA has been established and can reach its own view on such an important, long-term commitment and on the overall estate needs of the new service."The new Strathclyde HQ was estimated to cost £40m, although it is thought the contract has come in for considerably less. The response from councillor Stephen Curran states: "It is clear that the future SPA will require to be established for that body to determine its own view of office modernisation and the operational needs of a new single Scottish force. "It would also be essential for Strathclyde Police Authority to be fully involved during the period of transition in assessing such requirements and considering any initial financial commitments prior to the new national authority having sole responsibility. "A spokesman for Clyde Gateway said the potential contractors for the new building have been asked to put the plan on hold until the end of this year.The spokesman said: "We have created a situation whereby this does not require a decision to be taken until the end of December 2012. We are doing all we can to keep the project alive. "It has not been a waste of money because the work done so far has shown that this site is suitable for a building of this nature. It is not a site we can hold on to in perpetuity."Superintendent Donna Henderson, of Strathclyde Police, said: "There will need to be a large police building in the west coast of Scotland. What that looks like and where it will be located will be a matter for the new Scottish Police Authority."

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New base for police on hold until creation of single force

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