Former Edinburgh police station to be transformed into a new community centre in Balerno after plans approved
A former police station is to be converted into a community centre featuring meeting spaces, a workshop and an after-school club.
Proposals submitted in July by the Balerno Village Trust to transform the former police station at Bridge Road, were approved on August 26 by the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning department.
Speaking about their plans, the Trust said: “After consultation with the community, in the autumn last year, we are planning to transform the building into a vibrant community hub that will provide smaller community spaces for hire and create additional after-school care provision.
“Our hope is to have the building operational by August 2026. In due course we will arrange an appropriate community event to celebrate and let people have a look around, perhaps when we get the keys.
“Thank you to our local MSP Gordon Macdonald and our local Councillors Graeme Bruce, Stephen Jenkins, Fiona Glasgow, Neil Gardiner, Sue Webber MSP and MP Scott Arthur who have all supported us on this journey.”
Approving the plans, the council's chief planning officer David Givan said: “The proposed use would be compatible with nearby uses and support community wealth building.
“This will offer an additional community-based use which will compliment the variety of community assets within close proximity. This will be a good reuse of a purpose built structure and will benefit the wider community in the area.
“The external alterations are acceptable and there is no impact on amenity. There are no material considerations which outweigh this conclusion. Therefore, the proposal is acceptable.”
The plans include some changes to the building fabric as well as the addition of solar panels and an air source pump on the roof, improvements to the toilets and changes to signage.
They also entail new fencing to the side and rear of the property, four car parking spaces and six new cycle parking spaces at the front of the building.
Balerno Village Trust’s plans for the former police station received one objection on the council’s online planning portal, regarding the over-saturation of development with too many after school clubs and community centres in the area.
Local resident Karen Black said: “I object to this as we already have lots of after school clubs and a community centre in the village, what we need is something to bring money in as in more shops or something for our elderly people to do and teenagers.”
The trust secured a grant of £239,005 in July from the Scottish Land Fund to purchase Balerno Police Station from Police Scotland. They now have three years to begin work to convert the building.
Balerno Police Station is a 1960s single storey purpose-built police station set on the edge of Balerno Village. Due to restructuring of Police Scotland’s estate it is no longer required to be used as a police station. It has a full internal floor area of 300sqm.