Update on Forfar Police Station

Police in Forfar will be using office space in Angus House, the head office of Angus Council, as a temporary base following a decision earlier this month to vacate the existing station in the town.

Forfar police station on West High Street was closed on 11 September 2024 as a precaution following compliance concerns relating to health and safety.

The police station at West High Street has long term structural issues and suffered significant storm damage in 2023.

As part of the organisation’s ongoing national estates programme, public consultation was launched on 29 July 2024 requesting views on a proposal to relocate officers in the area and dispose of the existing station. The public consultation ended on 26 August 2024.

The building had been subject to regular monitoring to ensure the safety and welfare of police, staff and the public.

Chief Inspector Ross Fitzgerald, Area Commander for Angus, said: “I would like to first thank local officers, staff plus the local community for their understanding over the last week.

“When we opened public consultation in July on our proposal to relocate, our intention was to remain at West High Street until a decision was approved and a new location was ready.

“However, the health and safety of our officers and staff is a top priority, and unfortunately a compliance concern arose which necessitated the difficult decision to close the building.

“We have kept local stakeholders informed and we are pleased that Angus Council has invited us to share part of their building at Angus House in Orchardbank Business Park, which we will be able to use as an interim measure.

“Local officers and staff will start to move into Angus House this week. A portable office structure will also be sited at West High Street as a base for estates staff and will be in place for some time.

“Front counter services remain available in Angus at Arbroath between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday plus at West Bell Street in Dundee. We are looking at alternative options for front counter provision in Angus and we’ll provide an update should we be able to offer an additional location.”

“Angus House in Forfar will provide our officers with a suitable, modern and safe environment to work in for the time being, and we are very grateful to Angus Council for assisting us at such short notice.”

The consultation report on the proposal to relocate in Forfar has now been published on the Police Scotland consultation hub site. A total of 117 responses were submitted to the consultation.

Tayside Division’s Support Superintendent Suzanne Smith explains: “I want to thank everyone who participated in our public consultation on the future of Forfar police station. In total we received 117 responses, which for a public sector estates consultation, is encouraging and positive.

“It was important to us to hear from as many local residents and stakeholders as possible, to help shape our future decisions.
“Respondents mostly agreed with our proposed plan to move from West High Street and were understanding of our reasons.

“We also received a number of comments from those with concerns about us moving away from the town centre, which I can completely understand.
“Respondents appreciate the visible presence of officers and police vehicles accessing the West High Street building, which they feel helps deters crime and gives a feeling of safety. However, there was an understanding from respondents that the building is in a poor state of repair, with high running costs.

“Taking into account the views of the public, the views of officers and staff, our operational requirements, our national estates programme, the health and safety of our officers and staff, plus the current situation with West High Street, I can confirm that we are in discussion with Angus Council about taking space at William Wallace House as our long term and permanent location.

“At the time of conducting the consultation we did not envisage exiting West High Street at this point. Angus House will be a suitable location for the local policing team in the interim however William Wallace House would be the best fit for our overall and longer term requirements. It will also enable us to reinstate public counter services for Forfar, which isn’t currently possible at Angus House.

“I realise that there has been sudden and fast change, in terms of closing our station at West High Street, however I would like to reassure the community that measures were quickly put in place to ensure local policing services in Forfar remain unaffected.

“We are committed to maintaining a presence at Forfar to service the Angus area and I would like to thank the local community, Angus Council, local partners, our officers and staff for their understanding at this time.

“Officers will continue to be on patrol in the Forfar area and we would encourage anyone to approach them with any issues.
“For non-emergencies and general enquiries, you can also call 101, and 999 in the event of an emergency.”

Leader of Angus Council, Councillor Bill Duff, said: “The success of our Agile programme means that we have space within Angus House, and we are delighted to be able to support Police Scotland by making this space available to them.

“The police have acted very responsibly in vacating the building on West High Street and it shows an appropriate concern for the public and their staff.

“Moving to Angus House is a creative solution demonstrating the close partnership working that we enjoy between Police Scotland and the council, and it is good to see them maintain a presence in Forfar.

“I know I will be speaking for fellow councillors and council staff in extending a warm welcome to police colleagues for as long as is required.”

The full Forfar consultation report is published on the Police Scotland Engagement hub here: Estate Transformation: Local Area Consultations - Police Scotland - Citizen Space

The future permanent location of policing in Forfar will be confirmed in due course.