New Joint Police & Fire Station For Hereford

[Frank Smith]

I have just been reading the article on the HT website about this second proposal for these stations.

 
 

 

A SHARED police and fire station in Hereford could be built as part of redevelopment plans for the city’s Merton Meadow off Edgar Street.

 This morning (Fri) both West Mercia Police and Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Service confirmed that they were looking to develop a site “north of the football stadium†as an “innovative shared facilityâ€.

Both services will continue to work with Herefordshire Council on a site suitability assessment.

The fire service says the Bath Street site of Hereford’s former working boys home – currently council offices – is no longer an option for a new station.

 

Its great news that they have withdrawn the working boys home application but the new application site prop0sed is smack bang in the city centre, would it not make more sense to have these stations just outside town for all around quicker access. If there is a fire at Newton Farm for example these emergency vehicles will have to negotiate the terrible congestion that we all face daily, I appreciate that there will always be traffic but if they built these stations near Rotherwas or even the other side near the cattle market at least they can decide to take alternative routes in order to save time and lives potentially, surely being in the city centre the are almost cocooned to a degree.

[dippyhippy]

Morning Frank!

 

I'm not sure if you've had a chance to look at the thread about Saving The Working Boys Home...... and I appreciate it's very lengthy! ......but there's lots of information in there about the reasons the fire station has to be placed in a fairly central position.

 

A couple of examples being......Response times for reaching the medieval core, for instance, and also for the retained fire fighters.

 

There's lots to read...... but give yourself plenty of time! It took Green Knight the best part of a weekend to work his way through from beginning to end!

[Denise Lloyd]

There are good operational Fire Stations at Ewyas Harold and Peterchurch 20 minutes or less and you are at Newton Farm.  

[ragwert]

I have just been reading the article on the HT website about this second proposal for these stations.

 

PS.jpg FS.jpg

 

 

Its great news that they have withdrawn the working boys home application but the new application site prop0sed is smack bang in the city centre, would it not make more sense to have these stations just outside town for all around quicker access. If there is a fire at Newton Farm for example these emergency vehicles will have to negotiate the terrible congestion that we all face daily, I appreciate that there will always be traffic but if they built these stations near Rotherwas or even the other side near the cattle market at least they can decide to take alternative routes in order to save time and lives potentially, surely being in the city centre the are almost cocooned to a degree.

So they build it near the cattle market but that's miles from Newton Farm.Redhill.

Edgar Street is pretty much centre ground for Hereford

[Frank Smith]

Morning Frank!

 

I'm not sure if you've had a chance to look at the thread about Saving The Working Boys Home...... and I appreciate it's very lengthy! ......but there's lots of information in there about the reasons the fire station has to be placed in a fairly central position.

 

A couple of examples being......Response times for reaching the medieval core, for instance, and also for the retained fire fighters.

 

There's lots to read...... but give yourself plenty of time! It took Green Knight the best part of a weekend to work his way through from beginning to end!

 

Hi dippy, yes I was aware of the other topic but that was about saving the working boys home, so rather than jump onto that topic I decided to create a new one just about he two stations new proposals. 

[Frank Smith]

So they build it near the cattle market but that's miles from Newton Farm.Redhill.

Edgar Street is pretty much centre ground for Hereford

 

Well depending on the traffic I have driven around though Madley from the cattle market a lot quicker than going through the city centre and that was my point, They could also use Whitecross Rd but if you believe that emergency vehicles will not have to battle through the city centre traffic, which is getting worse not better then support their new proposals and leave the new station idea's in Edgar St/Relief Rd.

[ragwert]

Well depending on the traffic I have driven around though Madley from the cattle market a lot quicker than going through the city centre and that was my point, They could also use Whitecross Rd but if you believe that emergency vehicles will not have to battle through the city centre traffic, which is getting worse not better then support their new proposals and leave the new station idea's in Edgar St/Relief Rd.

Would they not battle through Whitecross Road then over the new bridge to get to Newton Farm/Red Hill from by Cattle market ?

[Frank Smith]

Would they not battle through Whitecross Road then over the new bridge to get to Newton Farm/Red Hill from by Cattle market ?

 

Probably ragwert, just my thoughts. At least they would have several alternative routes to choose from - Whitecross Rd or go up Wordsworth Rd and come out in Barton Rd or go out through Madley, I could well be wrong here but I think if they chose to be sited on the outskirts they have choices where is if they are stuck in the centre it is more limited.

[dippyhippy]

But if they're stuck on the outskirts, and have to battle their way IN to the city..... the medieval core of Old Hereford could be gone!

 

And we all know how long it's taking to get just one fire damaged building sorted!

 

(Frank, my friend, I was just suggesting that if you were interested in some of the arguments which have been put forward from various people/departments, the other thread contains a lot of useful information, from a variety of contributors!)

[ragwert]

I'd like to see them all in one place,fire,police & ambulance.
I'd also like to see the bus station where it should be next to rail station and the new link road with roundabouts not traffic lights.Oh look,me having one of my fantasy dreams again

[dippyhippy]

That's you and me both then, Ragwert!

 

It's nice to dream....!

[atm63]

There's a big area next to Merton Meadow which is slightly closer to the main road, currently a football pitch and some very tired stands, just the job. 

[Roger]

The Fire Station has for ages been deemed as not fit for purpose and it doesn't seem unreasonable to build a new one instead of trying to patch up the existing one. The people who appear to be in the know have deemed that it's not viable to do so. 

 

Same could be said of the Bath Street Police Station. It's been too small for a long time. Everyone knows that they had to rent two floors of the BT building on Barton Road as office space as a result. I always thought they should have bought the car place next door that was flattened some years ago and turned into what is now the private £1 an hour car park. They could have extended into that space. Instead they soldiered on in an unfit building by changing room shapes around inside and shuffling people about. It got really bad tho when they had to close the bar in the top of the building (really cheap drinks in there) and turn it into office space. 

 

The Organisations should have got their heads together 10 years ago and sorted out what they're trying to sort out now. 

 

Instead what ended up happening was the Police soldiered on even more with Bath Street. The cell block became so unfit for purpose with it's inadequate number of cells and crazy steep ramp outside to get into it that they then spent 2 1/2 years and £8M building a new cell block in the back yard. Link here It opened in the summer of 2009.

 

Contract manager, Danny Dawson, of Thomas Vale Construction, said: “We were able to provide challenging design solutions, while using the full extents of the site and existing building in order to produce a state-of-the-art police station suitable for the 21st century.â€

 

 

If this new combined Fire/Police Station gets built then we could end up with an £8M facility that would quite probably of got flattened within 10 years. Not a great use of the money. In my view.

[dippyhippy]

And I would absolutely agree with you there, Roger.

 

Forward thinking, forward planning and shared space should always have been the main aim. It would have saved a small fortune.

[Roger]

Forward thinking, forward planning and shared space should always have been the main aim. It would have saved a small fortune.

 

Selling off the Police Traffic Garage, which was on Newtown Road, (together with the Farriery College) may have seemed good at the time but land is quite valuable as a space for yourself. It's now Pizza Hut and PC World etc. 

 

I think the money received is perceived to have been spent unwisely. It was spent on short term stuff. 

 

That space is a couple of hundred yards from where they are now sniffing around ... 

[dippyhippy]

Agreed, Roger.

 

And a short term solution is never going to solve a long term problem...... which makes me think about the SLR.....will folks ever learn????

[Roger]

Agreed, Roger.

 

And a short term solution is never going to solve a long term problem...... which makes me think about the SLR.....will folks ever learn????

 

SLR is about housing I think. Hereford is just in the wrong place for roads I think. If there was an easy solution it would have happened already .... :-p

[SON OF GRIDKNOCKER]

May I make three small contributions to this thread, comrades?

 

No 1  A combined fire / police hq seems emminently sensible idea, considering my good friend Ubique says he saw such a set-up in France 30 years ago!

 

No 2  DON'T whatever you do take your eye off the ball vis-a-vis the former Working Boys Home on Bath Street. Don't - did you hear me? DON'T! Flash Harry Bramer - architect of the mad-cap plan to demolish a fine group of (should have been if the council's conservation officers weren't asleep on the job) unlisted Victorian buildings - is quite likely to come up with another belter. What's it to be this time, Harry: possible fracking site? waste incinerator? multi-storey car park? That's it: The Geof Hughes Memorial Multi Storey Car Park, to be designed by HSC boss John Bottomley.

 

No 3  Please can we hear some words of wisdom from The Great Cambo?

[Ubique]

Grid Knocker- slight amendment to your Para 1 - it was in Washington State , USA where I visited the joint Fire Service ( who also are the First Responders for Ambulance requirements) Police Communication Centre and Base . My friend was a Volunteer Fire Fighter who suggested that it was very cost effective and worked very well.

 

I do agree with your Para 2 , we must not take our eye off the ball in connection with the Working Boys Home..

[ragwert]

The area they are looking at is the BP garage,the building next to it (bubbles car wash at rear) and the wasteland to the right next to footie ground

[Roger]

The area they are looking at is the BP garage,the building next to it (bubbles car wash at rear) and the wasteland to the right next to footie ground

 

I figured that. The light sequence at the Tesco roundabout tho means any southbound blue light run from there would meet a wall of lights and blocked lanes in even the most vaguely of busy times via Edgar St. I read everywhere about this 'Scoot' system of intelligent lights but the phases all seem to last the same length of time to me regardless ! That said the FB still have to go south via the same island from their existing location. 

[Ubique]

Roger - re the Asda Island Traffic Lights ........many times a day you can see an Ambulance blue lighting it's way through the traffic from its Base towards an incident or to the County Hospital via this Island .....the powers that be think that is , I presume , acceptable.

 

I do also believe that there is a system / programme for traffic lights which can , over a distance turn all traffic lights in favour of the Emergency Vehicle ( s ) on an emergency call .

[Cambo]

 

No 3 Please can we hear some words of wisdom from The Great Cambo?

Thank you Grid Knocker whether or not these will be words of wisdom only time will tell?…a little bird told me that it will be on the site of the former Essexs arms? where both the police & HWFRS will have there new joint home as it will need to be a shared space the Essex arms will offer this as it is a big enough, area to accommodate both of these services together plus it is already owned by the police which would save on the cost of purchasing the land

[ragwert]

Thank you Grid Knocker whether or not these will be words of wisdom only time will tell?…a little bird told me that it will be on the site of the former Essexs arms? where both the police & HWFRS will have there new joint home as it will need to be a shared space the Essex arms will offer this as it is a big enough, area to accommodate both of these services together plus it is already owned by the police which would save on the cost of purchasing the land

That would put it right through the Hereford to Gloucester canal route which will terminate at the rear of the timber merchants

[Aylestone Voice]

Council to dispose of land in Merton Meadow to H&WF&RS

[ragwert]

Was at bubbles the other day and they have to vacate by end of this month.

[greenknight]

Was at bubbles the other day and they have to vacate by end of this month.

I know it's not relevant however "Bubbles" would be a great name for a 1930's revival nightclub!

[Roger]

Council to dispose of land in Merton Meadow to H&WF&RS

 

Yeah ... I read the HT link. 

 

I think the location is as good as could be achieved for a joint enterprise with the cops. It could easily be up and running for 2017/2018. 

 

I still think this is unfortunate tho as it might mean you only get about 10 years use out of an £8 Million investment in a new cell block at the current Police Station. Plus the add on cost of building an oversized Leominster Police Station (and oversized cell block) that happened when they needed to store Hereford prisoner capacity there when there were no cells in Hereford during the rebuild. Just a total lack of any sort of planning. 

[greenknight]

I still think this is unfortunate tho as it might mean you only get about 10 years use out of an £8 Million investment in a new cell block at the current Police Station. Plus the add on cost of building an oversized Leominster Police Station (and oversized cell block) that happened when they needed to store Hereford prisoner capacity there when there were no cells in Hereford during the rebuild. Just a total lack of any sort of planning.

 

Gotta say Roger that the great thing about Leominster,s new Police Station is that the Inspector has a cracking view from the top floor.It looks out onto the A49 from the Leominster roundabout all the way down towards the Marlbrook end. Great speedway particularly for bikes at weekends..Perhaps if he/she a speed gun out the window they could offset the costs...because the numbers are there.

[greenknight]

Used to live in Stoke Prior..the road noise was incredible.