A former Grampian Joint Police Board convener has urged Police Scotland to look at cutting costs on their north-east property estate.
Aberdeen councillor Martin Greig said the force must stop “vacant space going to waste” and should investigate sharing buildings with other emergency services and local authorities.
Last week, senior members of the ruling council administration met with Scotland’s top police officer Phil Gormley to discuss issues in the north-east.
They claim to have secured a guarantee from the chief constable that a force headquarters will remain in Aberdeen for the foreseeable future.
The council hailed the news as a “huge relief”, following the controversial decision to scrap Aberdeen and Inverness’s control rooms by the end of October.
Queens Street station is due to be demolished under the city centre masterplan and Mr Greig has urged council chiefs to work to find an alternative site.
He said: “The force has to make huge savings and yet it is delaying the review of the estates strategy – which would bring in considerable cost reductions.
“It would be wasteful to just depend on the receipt from Queen Street HQ disposal. Better to prioritise this estate review and start saving as soon as possible.
“This is another example of why a centralised force is inadequate in dealing with local decisions. The centre cannot effectively micromanage resources it wants to.
“Any future decisions must look at ways of sharing with other bodies to save funds.”
In Aberdeenshire, a similar scheme is under way with police chiefs consider selling off their outdated Peterhead HQ and downsizing with a move to local council buildings.
Inspector George Cordiner is spearheading plans to build an extension to Aberdeenshire Council’s Buchan House offices before scrapping their current Merchant Street base.
Last night, a senior officer said the force was looking at sharing options as part of a wider strategy.
Chief superintendent Billy Gordon added: “Making the best use of our buildings is an ongoing process as we create a sustainable operating model for our service.
“Collaboration is a key objective in our published Estate Strategy and we continue to examine all opportunities to share resources with relevant partners.
“There are already numerous examples of this across the country. We provide regular updates on our estate and estates strategy to the SPA for their approval.”