Hull’s first new fire station for nearly 40 years was formally opened on Friday 24 July by the Chair of Humberside Fire Authority Councillor John Briggs.
Staff and invited guests from partner organisations were invited to the formal opening of the new Clough Road Fire Station in Hull. Councillor Briggs cut the ribbon before guests were taken on a tour of the impressive new facilities.
Plans were originally submitted in January 2013 for a new fire station and training ground to be built on the Clough Road site on in Hull. This was to replace the existing three storey station which was opened back in 1959. Over recent years the station became increasingly expensive to heat and light, was beginning to show its age and had inadequate facilities to house the vehicles and personnel needed for a modern effective fire service.
The £3.9m station and training ground was officially opened by Councillor John Briggs (pictured left above) with Chief Fire Officer Dene Sanders. The Chair of the Fire Authority was delighted to finally cut the ribbon after two and a half years of planning and building:
“It is always excellent to see plans come to fruition and a special thanks go to all those involved in delivering this tremendous facility. The Fire Authority has faced the same financial challenges as other public service organisations, but our progressive management principles have enabled us to continue to deliver robust fire and rescue services to our communities.
We will not hesitate to invest in our estate or our people when the need arises because the safety of our communities and firefighters is paramount to us. Great care has been taken to build a modern station on the Clough Road site with green facilities to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint and achieve significant savings on all of our utilities.”
Chief Fire Officer Dene Sanders was equally thrilled with the new state of the art station:
“It is nearly 40 years since Hull had a new fire station, so the opening of such a modern facility will serve the city and the wider Humberside area well through this century. The old station will be missed by many, but the Service needs to adapt its stations and training facilities to house the very latest technology and be operationally ready for different threats such as flooding in the area.
Plans are already in place for further new stations and improvements to existing buildings across the region. These will reinforce our commitment to provide our firefighters with the best facilities and ultimately deliver a first class fire and rescue service to our communities.”
The new training facilities will be built on the site of the adjacent old station which has now been levelled. Work will start later this summer and is due to be completed by mid 2016.