Green light for new fire station - The Worcester Observer

Green light for new fire station

Worcester Editorial 27th Sep, 2013 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

A STATE of the art new fire station is set to be created in Tolladine after councillors backed proposals which will also see the current city centre base close.

Members of Worcester City Council’s planning committee gave the green light to Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s (HWFRS) plans to move out of its Copenhagen Street station, which has been used for the past 70 years.

Staff will be relocated to the new station, which is situated at Great Western Business park off Tolladine Road, once work has been completed on the site next year.

City-based building firm St Modwen will construct the new station, which will include five bay for vehicles and a training base with provision for the Young Firefighters Association.




The scheme was unanimously backed by councillors at a meeting last Thursday (September 19) as some felt the new location could make it easier for firefighters to get to incidents, while Coun Andy Roberts said the new building was a “thing of beauty”.

Coun Aubrey Tarbury said: “A quick exit, which is what they need, is difficult from where they are at the moment. Will this be better? I hope it will be.


“It is not in the centre, it is on one side, so if there is a fire on the west bank of St John’s they will need to get across, but I am sure that has been taken into account.”

Coun Roger Berry added: “The principal is great and what an improvement it is for the fire service as they will be able to get access to the whole city without the problems of the city centre.”

Once the new site is up and running, with work expected to be completed within the next 12 months, a spokesman at HWFRS said its current Copenhagen Street base will be sold to off-set the cost of providing a new station.

After the meeting, Mark Yates, chief fire officer at HWFRS, added: “Obviously the decision to build a new fire station in the current economic climate had to be carefully considered, but a new station for Worcester is vital if we are to provide a cost-effective and safe, fit-for-purpose location for our crews to work from.

“The building of this new station demonstrates our commitment to investing in the safety of the people who live in the city as well as our firefighters.”

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