A senior Tayside Police chief has blamed the current financial climate for a decision to ditch controversial plans to move Crieff’s police station away from the town centre.
Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Hamish Macpherson thanked local people for their input during a consultation into the relocation bid, saying it proved useful in identifying concerns.
He said he was confident measures could have been established to address most of the worries if the move to Strathearn Community Council had gone ahead.
But he went on to concede that the capital costs of moving the police station could not be justified and the plan had to be shelved.
Last week’s decision was welcomed by residents and politicians, most of whom wanted the station to remain in its current King Street building rather than move to a dedicated space within the campus.
Chief Superintendent Macpherson said: “The potential relocation of Crieff Police Office to Strathearn Community Campus was a good opportunity to raise our community profile within the Strathearn area and to provide an office environment more suited to modern policing needs.
“I am grateful for the many positive messages of support we received for this move from parents, campus users and local residents and also those who took the time to express their concerns regarding any potential negative impact from this move.
“I am confident that if we had gone ahead with this move, we could have put measures in place to ensure the vast majority of the concerns raised were addressed.
“Although the current financial climate means we cannot move ahead with this relocation at this time, I will continue to consider any future opportunities that may present themselves that would allow us to secure and strengthen the future of policing within the Strathearn area.”
Factors behind the force’s bid to relocate include the large size of the King Street office, which has a lot of unused space; the limited parking at the current site and the low numbers of the public who use it.
Police chiefs say ‘co-location’ on the campus would have provided the chance to increase police visibility and interact with more people.
However, the consultation exercise saw the move opposed by nearly 75% of respondents while local community councils also objected to the proposal citing parking and access issues at the campus and the loss of a town centre police presence.
