Detailed plans for the redevelopment of the site have been outlined in a document which labels the station “under utilised, inefficient, ageing, in poor condition” and requiring “significant maintenance”.

In the plans, Police Scotland has stated the site would make a significant contribution towards Edinburgh’s housing needs “delivering much-needed homes in a central urban site.”

Fettes station and the wider 14 acres site at Crewe Road South is identified as a site for housing-led mixed development under the council’s City Plan 2030.

The redevelopment of the site is key to Police Scotland’s wider estates strategy as it seeks to cash-in on legacy properties it inherited when the country’s forces amalgamated in 2013.

Police Scotland has already sold off a number of police stations across Scotland in recent years, including the former headquarters of Strathclyde Police in Glasgow, The Scotsman reports.

If proposals are approved, the site, which is currently used for offices, vehicle workshops, kennels and specialist operations buildings, will be demolished to make way for a high-demand housing development.

A senior officer said: “The situation at Fettes is straightforward. Does the force spend a large amount of capital from its budget upgrading a legacy building which many see as no longer fit for purpose or does it obtain best value for the property and release significant funds to invest elsewhere?

“It’s not hard to see which option makes the most sense. I am confident that Fettes will be disposed of with its future decided by market forces and potential developers.

“The city council is the most obvious purchaser on the horizon.”

In an official submission to the council on the City Plan 2030, Police Scotland has provided site analysis and its own reassessment of the land, based on council criteria to support allocation of the site for mixed development with hundreds of homes.