Senior councillors claim they have secured a guarantee from Scotland’s top police officer that a force headquarters will remain in Aberdeen.
Council leader Jenny Laing and finance convener Willie Young met Chief Constable Phil Gormley over the weekend, seeking reassurances the north-east division would always have its base in the Granite City.
And they revealed last night that Mr Gormley had said he couldn’t see any “foreseeable circumstances” in which that wouldn’t be the case.
They hailed the news as a “huge relief” following in the wake of a controversial decision to shut the city’s call handling centres.
Police Scotland plans to scrap Aberdeen’s control room in October, and Inverness’s next month.
Mr Young said the authority would be considering ways it could “share resources” with the emergency services in coming years.
He said: “Aberdeen is the third largest city in the country so it’s only right that we have a proper headquarters in the city.
“We have to think strategically now and consider ways we can pool resources, including buildings, with the emergency services and the NHS.”
The news was welcomed by opposition parties in the town house.
But Councillor Martin Greig, former convener of Grampian Joint Police Board, warned that the Queens Street station was due to be demolished under the city centre masterplan and urged council chiefs to work to find an alternative site.
He said: “Whilst I would welcome the retention of a headquarters in Aberdeen I would urge the council to work with the emergency service on finding a new base in the city.
“Aberdeen has the highest levels of crime and disorder in the north-east so it is only reasonable for the city to be the location of the headquarters.
“We all know that Queen Street is probably approaching the end of its lifespan so this is a decision we will need to think about soon.”
SNP group leader Stephen Flynn said: “Obviously if the chief constable has said this then it would be welcome news.”
A police spokeswoman declined to comment on the private meeting.
