The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Demand for life in cop shop
Recent months have seen strong demand in Tayside and Fife for police stations and community halls acquired for conversion to residential use. The vast majority went to closing dates.
Auchtermuchty police station is under offer and former Wormit and Friockheim police stations were sold recently – having generated much interest among developers.
The appeal of the Wormit property to buyers with one eye on residential conversion opportunities is not hard to discern.
After all, the village is on the south shore of the Firth of Tay at the end of the Tay Rail Bridge with views over to Dundee.
The former police house and station in the Angus village of Friockheim also lent itself to development.
Located on Gardyne Street, the main street through the village, the semi-detached two-storey three-bedroom home came with a linked former police station, three garages and yard, car park and an enclosed area of garden ground to the front and rear.
A former community hall in Culross in Fife proved equally popular. The Stephen Memorial Hall attracted an incredible number of inquiries and viewings, and will be converted to self-contained holiday accommodation.
Other redundant council properties which have proved attractive to developers include the former clinic and library at Kinglassie, a small village two miles south-west of Glenrothes.
Located on Main Street, the principal thoroughfare in the village, this detached single-storey building dates from 1883.
Planning consent was secured by the purchaser to convert this property to two houses.
Meanwhile, a prominent site on Rosslyn Street around 1.5 miles from Kirkcaldy town centre also proved popular.
These recent sales are just a handful of the examples which demonstrate the strong level of demand for commercial property which offers potential for alternative uses and in particular residential.
We are finding there are many local developers keen to get involved with projects where the initial capital outlay is below £250,000 and they can add value through refurbishment or conversion.