Politicians and community leaders have welcomed news that plans to move Crieff police station away from the town centre have been shelved.
The proposal – which would have seen officers relocate to Strathearn Community Campus – was overwhelmingly opposed by residents who this week praised police chiefs for listening to their views.
Community organisations Crieff Community Council, Crieff Community Trust and East Strathearn Community Council all challenged the potential move and highlighted residents’ concerns to Tayside Police.
They opposed the change on various grounds, including existing parking problems at the campus and whether it was appropriate to ‘co-locate’ the police station with Crieff High School.
They also highlighted the negative impact they felt they move would have on the any future regeneration of the town centre, caused by leaving the King Street building empty.
Stephen Leckie, chair of the community council, described the decision as “good news” and said he was pleased police had taken the community’s views into consideration.
He added: “It is great that they listened to what local people said and we thank them for that.”
Dawn Griesbach, of Crieff Community Trust, said: “We did not think a move to the community campus was a good idea for a number of reasons so we welcome this decision and would thank the police for listening to the views of the local community.”
She said the Trust was keen to engage further with Tayside Police and help in any way possible regarding better usage of the current building.
Maureen Beaumont, chair of East Strathearn Community Council, said: “Local people will be delighted to hear the police station is not moving from the town centre and I hope the police will always continue to have a presence there.”
Local MSP Roseanna Cunningham said the decision would be “widely welcomed.”
She explained: “The weight of opinion gathered by the consultation exercise was heavily opposed to the move and I believe that was an accurate reflection of local opinion.
“I am pleased this has been taken into consideration in reaching this decision. I note with interest that the costs of relocation were also a stumbling block and I trust public opinion will again be taken into account should there be any further proposals to move out of the King Street premises.”
Ochil and South Perthshire MP Gordon Banks said he was “relieved” by the decision not to move from King Street and hoped the police would always remain in the town centre.
He said: “I said at the outset I thought this would be a negative move – it is good to have a police presence in the town centre.
“It is also reassuring to know the police listened to what the public thought via the consultation process.
“While I understand that Tayside Police will now look at other alternatives, I do hope any solution will result in a town centre police presence in the future.”
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith declared: “I very much welcome the decision by Tayside Police not to move Crieff Police Station and the fact they have taken the views of local people on board.”
A total of 75 people made comments at public meetings, by email, letter or via the police website and of those 56 respondents (74.7%) were against the proposal while nine (12%) were in favour, A further 10 (13.3%) were regarded as being neutral.
