Building work takes shape on '¨new town fire station

Inspecting the new fire station building site. From left - Ff Mark Aspinall, Ff Marc Gardener, DCM Chris Lowe and Ff Bob Machin EMN-161031-195641001

Work has begun on the new fire station on Eastgate - on part of the former Eastgate centre site, which will replace the existing station on Church Lane, which has been operational since 1952.

It will house Sleaford’s whole-time firefighters who are part of the county’s Urban Search and Rescue response (currently based in a temporary unit further along East Road), and the town’s on-call firefighters from Church Lane.

Members of the full-time crew have been down to the building site to inspect progress recently. The £6m project could take up to a year to complete and the station is expected to be fully-operational by May 2017.

An artist's impression of the new Sleaford fire station. EMN-160111-120838001

The site will also include office space for council staff from the Riverside offices next to NKDC’s building.

The scheme, approved by local and county councillors in 2015, is funded by the sale of both sites – Riverside and Church Lane - and a small capital investment, says the county council

Dave Hopkins, resources manager for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, says: “Despite pressures on local authority budgets, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has made a commitment to ensure it can provide the best possible emergency response, along with facilities which support the crews and our community safety focus for the long term.

“Sleaford is a growing town and is already one of our busiest stations. By building this new premises, we will have space for an increased number of fire engines, a new accommodation pod for our full-time firefighters on a new and more efficient shift pattern. This will allow us to provide the best possible service to the local community as well as being a key site in supporting our countywide response.

A rear view of the new fire station artist's impression. EMN-160111-164810001

“As the station is being built near the centre of town, it will take just a couple of minutes to get onto the A17 enabling our crews to get to Grantham, Boston or Lincoln quickly and assist with other call outs across the county.

“We have always had excellent on-call firefighters crewing the site on Church Lane, who will now be based alongside their full-time colleagues at the new station. I would like to thank them for their ongoing dedication as they continue to provide essential support to the local community.”