Portlethen hit by "completely unacceptable" Police station closure
Aberdeenshire MP Andrew Bowie has spoken out against the decision.
Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Andrew Bowie has criticised plans for Police Scotland to close their station in Portlethen.
Bowie, said: “These plans will undoubtedly raise concerns about policing in Portlethen.
“While the majority of officers are currently based at Stonehaven and Nigg, the last thing anyone wants is for Portlethen to be left without any frontline police based in the town whatsoever.
“For a place of its size, residents deserve to have a regular police presence and I’m worried these proposals will have an impact on issues such as response times.
“The core of the problem is the lack of funding from the SNP Government to provide sufficient officer numbers to cover towns and rural areas of Aberdeenshire.
“Portlethen is now feeling the brunt of this which is completely unacceptable to the communities who live in the town.”
In a response to Mr Bowie, Police Scotland said "each division reviews and considers their requirements in consultation with communities, partners and stakeholders."
Their response continued:
"As you may be aware, there is a minimal frontline resource stationed at Portlethen with operational matters being dealt with by Officers generally located in Stonehaven instead, striving to deliver enhanced Policing services to our communities.
"The Portlethen area is further supported by our colleagues at Nigg Police Station, where emergency response and additional support to ongoing incidents is required.
"Any future plans will also be the subject to the approval of the Scottish Police Authority."