POLICE plans to move 300ft from their current station into Haddington’s former sheriff court building have been hit with delays after £1.5 million in funding was removed from East Lothian Council’s budget.

The council took ownership of the former Haddington Sheriff Court building in 2015 after it was closed in a cost-saving exercise, along with a number of other courts in smaller towns.

READ MORETime is called on centuries of locally administered justice as Haddington Sheriff Court closes

But the court rooms have remained vacant ever since and plans to carry out refurbishment work ahead of the move have now been put back.

East Lothian Council said that the money, which was part of £1.74m set to be spent on the building during this financial year, had been “re-profiled” as part of measures set out at a special council meeting which saw capital projects “slowed” to tackle a £5 million budget deficit in this year’s finance.

Police Scotland first confirmed that it was in talks with the council over moving into a new ’emergency hub’ and closing Haddington Police Station, which is on the same street, a year after the court closed.

Successive chief inspectors have reaffirmed their support for the project and in 2019 Chief Inspector Steven Duncan said that officers expected to move into the building within three years.

The large court in the centre of the building was set to become the new operations room for police, with other emergency services and vital council officers working in the building alongside them.

The move was intended to create a multi-agency approach which Police Scotland said would help public services run more efficiently.

The council backed the move, taking on responsibility for the estimated £1.4 million initial cost of converting the space before leasing it to Police Scotland.

However, that was before the Covid-19 pandemic and it is understood that costs are believed to have spiralled after the building lay virtually unused for at least three years, with some areas not touched since the court moved out eight years ago.

Police Scotland said that it was still committed to moving into the former court house.

Chief Inspector Jocelyn O’Connor, local area commander for East Lothian, said: “We remain fully committed to the co-location project in Haddington and the development of the new facility is continuing.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The capital budget is being re-profiled and aligned following the outcome of the special council meeting to meet the acute financial challenges faced.

“Police Scotland and council officers continue to meet; however, the requirement to retender means that the timeline has not yet been determined.”