Old stations net Police Scotland more than £28m

The former Strathclyde Police headquarters at 173 Pitt Street, Glasgow, was the most lucrative, selling for £9.6m in 2018. The police training school at 7 Chambers Street in Edinburgh, meanwhile, raised £3.3m in 2017.

The Strathclyde HQ is being turned into more than 400 flats in a reported £78m housing scheme called Holland Park.

In total, 96 property sales were finalised between 2013 and 2020, for a total of £28.5m.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Scotland’s policing estate has been built up over the course of several decades and some buildings are no longer in the right place or… fit for purpose.

“Many police station sales were as a result of properties declared surplus by legacy forces although the sales occurred post-formation of Police Scotland.”

The spokesman said most decisions to sell properties “were taken after lengthy and detailed consultation with our partners and local communities and this process remains the same today”.

He added: “In the vast majority of cases, police stations which were closed were moved to new, modern, co-located accommodation within the same towns or officers were moved to new police stations nearby.”