POLICE Scotland ploughed more than half-a-million pounds of public money into a major upgrade of Greenock police station before announcing its plan to axe the HQ, a Telegraph investigation has uncovered.
The force spent a total of £530,315.05 on revamping the custody suite and 57 cells, which are now set to be lost under the controversial move to close the station as part of a drastic cost-cutting exercise.
The revelation comes as a key demand of the Tele's Protect Our Policing campaign - that a custody suite is included in any new station proposal - has won the backing of Inverclyde MSP Stuart McMillan.
We can also reveal that some of the expenditure occurred after Police Scotland launched its future estate strategy in 2019.
As well as a permanent custody suite, our campaign - which is gathering strong momentum - is also calling for a public-facing front counter, open 24 hours every day, and CID, community policing and response policing all being retained in Inverclyde at their current levels.
SNP man Mr McMillan has joined us in demanding that a 'full custody suite' is included in police plans for the district.
Retired former police superintendent Debbie Reilly, who was at the helm of the Greenock station in 2018, said: "It seems to me there's an element of poor planning and a lack of forward thinking here.
"Work was needed at the time to upgrade the site for a variety of reasons and there was investment in other parts of the office to upgrade various facilities.
"The Police Scotland estate strategy launched in 2019, so work would have been going on at Greenock police station over that period.
"I'm incredulous that the work continued with such a level of spend if there was an intention at that stage to close the office.
"If the closure of the office was already on the backburner, it does raise questions about financial decision making at Police Scotland."
MSP Mr McMillan said: "This investment over a four-year period is a reminder that Greenock police station is reaching the end of its life.
"While people may question why this money was spent by Police Scotland when they are now considering new premises locally, the reality is that without making this investment, it may well be that Inverclyde would be without an operational custody suite right now - or at the very least, would have one with limited capacity.
"The fact that such large sums have been spent upgrading the custody suite also serves as an indication that these facilities are valued by Police Scotland.
"I want to see that reflected in the pursuit of a new location in Inverclyde, with a full custody suite being part of that package."
Councillor David Wilson, who is set to chair an emergency meeting of Inverclyde's police scrutiny panel next Thursday, said: "Given this expenditure, it would seem strange that Police Scotland would want to give up the whole police station.
"One would assume that with this expenditure, the custody suite was made fit for purpose.
"I know that the rest of the building is quite tired, and I would like to know what it would cost to refurbish the rest of the building to the standard in which those who work there could be comfortable.
"The police superintendent and the estates department will be at the meeting, and will have a good discussion about the whole situation.
"I will be interested to hear all of the information. I have no preconceived ideas."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police Scotland inherited a very large and ageing estate, much of which was not fit for purpose, with high maintenance costs and environmental inefficiencies.
“Greenock police station was built 50 years ago and although state of the art for its formal opening in 1975, it is simply no longer suitable for modern policing.
“We are legally required to provide a custody provision which is consistent with our human rights obligations and mitigates risk to vulnerable persons held in custody, and this will naturally incur costs.
As such, necessary repairs and investment have been made over the years to the custody suite at Greenock in order to ensure that the building was fit for purpose and met health and safety requirements. Failure to invest could have compromised our capability to safely accommodate those in our care.
“While we are consulting on the disposal of Greenock Police Station, we recognise the need for a local policing service for the people of Inverclyde and a police presence in the area will continue, albeit perhaps from another site in Inverclyde yet to be determined. Practical matters, such as a custody provision and public counter service will naturally form part of our considerations.
“We would encourage those with a view on policing in the area to take part in our consultation, as their views will help shape our decision making. “
You can sign our petition online here.
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