A CONCERNED councillor has slammed ‘half-baked’ Greenock Police Station replacement proposal being put to Inverclyde residents by force chiefs.

Independent elected member Tommy McVey says that Police Scotland’s senior management must be held to account about the future of the current Rue End Street HQ, which is earmarked for closure.

The Telegraph revealed this month how Police Scotland are planning to shut the current base but are yet to identify a replacement for the ageing building, with a consultation exercise being launched.

Greenock Telegraph: Tommy McVey comments on Greenock police station proposals

Councillor McVey told the Telegraph that there was no budget identified for the new building yet and highlighted a lack of guarantees about whether a future office would have a custody suite.

He said: “I have had discussions with Police Scotland, and they have given assurances that there will still be a police office in Greenock once the current building closes.

“I have a great deal of sympathy for our divisional commander Gordon McCreadie, who has been left by the senior management of Police Scotland to sell what I can only describe as a half-baked proposal to Inverclyde residents.

“No site has been identified for the new office, no budget has been identified and we don’t know if there will be a custody suite in this new office.

“Given the funding crisis in the public sector, including Police Scotland, it is understandable that people are sceptical of whether the promise of a police office, on a different site, will materialise.

“That is most certainly my main concern.

“Police Scotland have already told us that they are cutting the number of officers in K division.

“So, if there is not going to be a custody suite in Inverclyde officers will have to travel to Clydebank or Glasgow with prisoners who are being detained.

“That means that they will be off the beat for much longer than at present and that is not acceptable. 

“We must hold Police Scotland senior management to account on this issue.”

Councillor McVey linked the revelations about the future of the police station to a number of other recent rows about local services, such as plans to cut local firefighting posts and the continued pressure on Inverclyde Council’s budget.

He added: “It seems that every other week something else is announced which further erodes the fabric of our community.

“We now have the issue of the police station.

“Fire service provision has been reduced, council budgets are under severe pressure putting jobs and services at risk, hospital services have been reduced over the years, they can't give us an out-of-hours GP services, the college estate requires investment and proposals for a new HMP Greenock have been kicked so far into the long grass that they are in a different time zone.

“All these things come under the auspices of the Scottish Parliament."

Cllr McVey believes it is up to parliamentarians to do something to challenge a trend of downgrades and managed decline.

He said: “Where are Stuart McMillan, Neil Bibby, Jamie Greene, Paul O'Kane and the rest of the West of Scotland MSPs?

“It really is time that they got together and collectively made a case for Inverclyde, because something has to change.”