THERE has been a lot of discussion around the police station in Inverclyde.

As far as I can tell all focused on moving to a new location and what services will be retained.

Various articles mention a “maintenance backlog cost” of £2.3 million to bring the building up-to-date but this is not pitched as an actual refurbishment cost which could be different and result in a modern fit for purpose facility.

A sum of £1.5m was spent relocating an old station at Ayr into a renovated ex-council building with more modern amenities for a modern workforce but not a co-location with other services and not a new build. So why the focus on leaving with no mention of a future use for the building?

As a community we should be pushing to either upgrade and keep using as a modern police station or upgrade and use for a new purpose - be that college, creative arts, small business units or other use.

Police Scotland are a relevant body in terms of community asset transfer legislation so that any eligible community group could apply for long term lease or even transfer of the building.

It is disappointing that this is not put forward as an option in the online consultation and is barely mentioned within the current Police Scotland, 'Estate Strategy 2019' document despite the legislation being in place since 2015.

Concrete creates more greenhouse gases than any other material used in construction and is responsible for between five per cent and seven per cent of all global carbon emissions.

We need to move away from the old ideas of the current linear economy - 'take, make and throw away', operated by society in general and very specifically by the construction sector.

As we move towards net zero this approach is unsustainable and unconscionable. We need to encourage the reuse of buildings as a first step and if this is not possible then ensure the reuse of the materials from the waste.

With all of the steps towards net zero that need to be taken in Scotland the construction industry will be pivotal. We need to move towards a circular economy that minimises extraction (for materials) and encourages keeping materials and products in circulation for as long as possible through processes like sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling.

The National Engineering & Policy Centre in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Engineering outlines four missions for de-carbonising construction.

Mission three - 'Construction & Reuse' highlights all of the above.

They give a good example of upgrading an old 1970s style concrete building at Wolfson College, University of Oxford.

With all buildings the major CO2 emissions come from the energy demand of space heating. By replacing windows with thin triple glazing and reusing and adapting the existing gas fired heating system to work with electric heat pumps as well as other measures they have been able to keep an old building in use with a low carbon footprint.

Funding is a major issue for whatever the future holds for our police station building. By tapping into funding available for net zero projects some of the cost could be offset while providing the construction industry, council and governments in Scotland with a valuable innovative test case.

Inverclyde and Scotland needs transformational change to allow net zero processes and industries to flourish.

Inverclyde already has examples of upgrading and bringing old buildings back into use with the Custom House and the Inverclyde Shed.

There are also exciting plans being proposed for the Glebe Refinery Building. Inverclyde could and should be a catalyst for change. Lets show our young people we take their futures seriously and use any large building projects as a test cases for net zero innovation in Inverclyde and the wider Scottish economy.

Paul Malloy

Greenock