Peterhead’s former police station will be brought back to life as a modern business hub with hopes it will become a “centre for entrepreneurship”.
Fife-based Forget Me Not Properties applied to Aberdeenshire Council earlier this year in a bid to convert the Merchant Street building into a multi-use business hub.
The holding cells will become single-person offices and their doors and bars will stay in place as the developers aim to keep some of the “character and charm” of the building.
Developers also said the offices will offer “unique” workspaces in the heart of the town centre.
Police staff relocated to Buchan House back in August 2020 and the former police base has lain empty since.
What will the new business hub have?
The development at Station House will provide a “professional and modern” workspace for up to 100 people.
It is expected to feature private and shared flexible office spaces along with meeting rooms and kitchen facilities.
There are also plans for a business lounge, cafe, a small gym and therapy rooms.
Three external storage units will be available for use by potential businesses as well as outdoor working spaces and workshops.
A Facebook post by The Station House said the new workspaces would suit “anyone and everyone” from budding entrepreneurs to established companies.
Hopes plan to redevelop Peterhead police station could be ‘catalyst’ for redevelopment
Council planners supported the reuse of the vacant building and said it would “contribute towards sustainable development”.
They also said the development would make the surrounding area “more welcoming and active.”
The council’s built heritage team backed the plan too and said it is to be “broadly welcomed as a positive development”.
They hoped the new business venture would “secure the long-term future” of the building and said it could act as a “catalyst” for the redevelopment of other empty units in the area.
The team also said the conversion would lead to “improvements to the appearance of both the former police station and the wider streetscape”.
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The three-storey building was built in 1920 and is in the Peterhead Central conservation area.
It is made up of two semi-detached buildings which have been linked.
The development will be project managed by Neil McLeod of Property Partners who recently opened the Lyon’s Den Business Hub in Banff.
The new Banff business hub was formerly an ironmonger but now provides workspaces for local businesses.
You can view the planning documents here.
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