'Not a safe or suitable location' - Concern raised over proposed site of new fire station planned for Boston area

Residents in Leverton have spoken out against plans submitted by Lincolnshire County Council to build a new fire station in the village, arguing that the site the authority has in mind is ‘not a safe or suitable location’.

The current fire station is in Main Road, near Lacey’s Lane.

The council describes it as ‘an older building on a small site which falls behind the standard of facilities at many other fire stations’.

In particular, it says, it lacks sufficient training and welfare facilities. In addition, it says, the site causes manoeuvrability difficulties for fire appliances, with a lack of parking for additional response vehicles.

Under the submitted plans, a new on-call fire station would be built further along Main Road towards Skegness, past Jenkins’ Lane, on a plot currently left as grass/scrubland.

However, a group of residents have since approached The Standard to highlight their ‘strong objections’ with the plans – a petition, meanwhile, against the location has attracted more than 100 signatures.

A spokesman for the group said: “We do not dispute that the current facility is not big enough and agree that a new station is warranted. Our objections are that the proposed site is not a safe or suitable location.

The current site has compromised access so why move to another site which has compromised access?

“The stretch of road outside the proposed location appears to be the narrowest stretch of the A52 in the village and there are bends in the road heading away in both directions, which makes exiting the site difficult. There have been two serious accidents near the proposed site, involving the section of road in front of the site to be closed, within the last 14 months, one requiring the air ambulance to attend.”

“The proximity to the village shop is also a major concern,” the spokesman continued. “You get children crossing the road and also large vehicles that park partly blocking the road either outside the shop or on the border of the property adjacent to the site in the direction of the shop while the drivers use the shop. These vehicles regularly restrict visibility as well as partially blocking the road.”

The council is currently consulting on the proposals, but the spokesman added that villagers are also upset that the plans have been submitted without them being consulted first.

“Why would you proceed with expensive surveys, etc., without consulting those who would be directly affected by the proposed facility?” they said. Concluding, they said: “We fully support the fantastic work of the local fire service and their volunteer crew within the community but urge a safer and more suitable site to be determined for the new facility.”

Coun Lindsey Cawrey, executive councillor for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “The aim of building a new fire station in Leverton is to provide the best possible working conditions for our firefighters and to enhance the safety of the local community. Our information event (held in the village last month) was well-attended by residents, and we received lots of positive feedback about the plans. Some members of the community were concerned about the safety of the new site, and the design team talked through these concerns. Safe access requirements are a key feature of the new site as the existing location has particularly challenging access with fire appliances having to be reversed off a main road into the station grounds.

“The crew at Leverton currently attend around 150 incidents a year. The proposals put forward for a new fire station for Leverton have been based on the only available and suitable parcel of land in the village that we are aware of. The plans are out for consultation and members of the public and all agencies involved can have their say. Clearly in order to consult in this way, we needed to wait until a firm proposal and design had been created for feedback to be given.”