THE Scottish Government was last night accused of “asset-stripping” Aberdeen to the tune of £13million.
Craiginches Prison and fire brigade and police properties – all paid for by the local authority over the years – will be sold off and the proceeds returned to Holyrood.
Council leader Barney Crockett said Aberdeen was “losing out again” and accused SNP ministers of chipping away at its already under-funded public sector.
But his latest salvo in the bitter, ongoing feud between the Labour-led city council and the Scottish Government was dismissed as “nonsense” by aides for First Minister Alex Salmond.
The fractious relationship between the council and the government plunged to a new low last month in a spat over ministerial visits. Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill was told by city officials that an announcement planned to be made at Dyce could not take place on council property.
Labour said the decision to deny access was taken because council leaders were not invited to the opening of a health village in the city, launched by Mr Salmond on December 2.
There have been repeated clashes between the two sides since the local elections in 2012, with Mr Salmond at one point describing Aberdeen as a “kamikaze” council which he said was bringing the authority into “total disrepute”.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has put the Craiginches site on the market, while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is selling a large part of its North Anderson Drive HQ.
Mr Crockett said there was also speculation that Police Scotland was considering the future of its Queen Street HQ as bosses looked at ways of saving more money.
Last night the Scottish Government insisted the north-east would enjoy a better service from national police and fire services. But Mr Crockett challenged ministers to ditch “centralisation” plans and instead help the council address the housing needs of Aberdeen.
He said: “Aberdeen is losing out again. We have the smallest public sector of any city in Scotland, and the Scottish Government seems to be removing that at every turn. It seems they are moving forward as fast as possible, and selling off these big sites.
“We have already been approached by a local MSP suggesting that the council should be buying the fire station headquarters on North Anderson Drive for housing, but the Scottish Government should be putting that into the pot to help address some of the housing needs of the city. We are hearing strong rumours that Police Scotland is looking at Queen Street. Aberdeen city paid for that, and we don’t want it to be sold and see the proceeds go to the central belt. Our city at the moment is playing such a small role in the future plans of Scottish Government, and that needs to change.”
Craiginches Prison in Torry is closing at the end of this week as the SPS prepares to open a new “superjail” at Peterhead, HMP Grampian.
Initial plans have been tabled with the city council to redevelop the Grampian Place site, which will be demolished, for housing.
Property experts have estimated that the cleared land would be worth about £2million if sold for residential use.
The SFRS has declared old buildings in its North Anderson Drive complex surplus to requirements. A fire station will remain on site, however.
Several years ago, it was expected the site could fetch £10million if it was redeveloped as a supermarket, but it is understood it would more likely be worth £5-6million if sold for housing.
The value of the former Grampian Police headquarters in Queen Street was estimated at about £5million.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said Mr Crockett’s comments were off the mark. She said: “We expect all public bodies to make the best use of property assets to deliver the cost-effective public services that the Scottish taxpayer expects.
“The introduction of single police and fire services has reduced duplication and improved efficiency and there is no doubt that people across Grampian can expect a better value service than ever before.”