Member Article

£912k funding boost for Hexham fire station relocation project

A project to build a new community fire station in Hexham has scooped a government cash boost.

The scheme, to relocate the town’s Community Fire Station to a site at Hexham General Hospital, has won a share of a £75 million fund aimed at improving frontline services and saving taxpayers over £300 million.

The Fire Transformation Fund, announced last March, is giving £75 million to fire and rescue authorities to help ensure better and more efficient front-line services for the public.

In total, 37 projects from across the country will get funding.

In Northumberland, the county council has secured £912k towards the relocation scheme, which goes into the planning process this week following a nine week public consultation.

Councillor Dave Ledger, deputy leader of Northumberland County Council with responsibility for the fire and rescue service, said: “These are ambitious plans which have come as a result of close partnership working between the Council and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

“This funding is a welcome boost to the project as we go forward and shows the government were clearly impressed by the detailed proposals we submitted and the focus on working with other agencies for the benefit of the community.”

Fire Minster, Penny Mordaunt, said: “Fire services have done an amazing job over the last few years in reducing demand on their emergency services; there are fewer fires and deaths.

“But this means the service needs to adapt, to meet new demands and to ensure it is working in the most efficient way.

“That’s why we’ve set up the Fire Transformation Fund.

“One of the things that I found encouraging was the high number of bids looking to promote greater collaboration with other emergency services through sharing stations and services, sharing of back office functions, and joining up on service delivery.

“This is exactly the sort of innovation that is needed across the public sector and I look forward to seeing how these projects progress.”

The plans will be considered by the County Council’s planning committee early next year.

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