Exclusive:Revealed: Police Scotland facing half a billion pound black hole to fix crumbling buildings

Scotland's national force said it was currently spending millions of pounds a year on works across its estate, despite the fact some of the structures are no longer fit for purpose. It said the problem was particularly acute in Glasgow and Dundee. 

In a candid assessment of its sprawling estate, the force has presented a £500m bill to achieve the transformation of its properties. That is more than double the sum cited just three years ago. It said that in Scotland’s biggest city, “almost all” of its properties are now “at the end of their economic life,” with the majority of the largest buildings nearly 50 years old. It estimates it would take over £40 million just to keep them operational over the coming years, despite the fact they are “designed for 1970s policing.”

The force, which last year announced plans to close 29 police stations and other buildings, is also considering a significant shift away from its traditional funding model in order to address the problem. One option on the table is to borrow hundreds of millions of pounds in order to help finance the overhaul of its buildings, a move that would require the approval of Scottish ministers. 

The need to modernise the estate forms part of an ambitious new business plan that was revealed earlier this week by Chief Constable Jo Farrell. It specifies that a prioritised decade-long programme of improvements, refurbishments and disposals will be developed, with the pace of implementation determined by available funding.

Now, the issue of financing will be discussed in detail on Thursday at a full board meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). In a report to the board, James Gray, the force’s chief financial officer, said a lack of ongoing capital funding for the estate has meant the focus has been on “reactive critical maintenance” to meet compliance requirements and “patch up buildings to keep them operational.”

He added that the force was spending “millions of pounds each year” on the likes of boilers for buildings deemed “not fit for purpose,” because there was insufficient money to move to better accommodation. 

Mr Gray said the estate plan would “provide an evidence base” to the Scottish Government for the need for additional funding. He explained: “What it highlights is that in order to drive meaningful improvement in the estate, and to meet the developing future operational requirements, an investment of approximately £500m is required over the next 10 years.” 

That would support the upgrade of 122 existing buildings to a “good condition,” as well as the creation of new ‘deployment hubs,’ community policing bases, and custody centres. Mr Gray added that based on the current spending levels, the plan faced a £280m funding shortfall, but that potential capital receipts could bring that down to £200m. 

He went on: “If the SPA/Police Scotland were able to borrow £200m over the 10 years to meet the shortfall, it could be afforded through the reduced annual running costs of the estate resulting from a smaller more efficient estate that meets future needs.”