Retford: Fire station to be demolished and rebuilt

Crews are set to move into a stand-in station in Ordsall in September while the new station is built.

The Wharf Road station, build in 1966, has been deemed no longer fit for purpose and it will take around a year for the station to be demolished and a new one be built. The new station will be around two thirds the size and will cost between a third and half to run compared to the current one.

Estates and procurement manager Ian Pritchard said: “The existing fire station has served the Retford community well for 50 years or more and was badly in need of refurbishment.”

“An options appraisal and feasibility study was carried out by external consultants who are experts in their field, and this concluded that the most cost-effective way forward was to rebuild the station from scratch.”

“The station will be highly efficient in order to reduce running costs, and will provide Retford’s crews with an extremely modern, purpose-built facility, from which they can respond to incidents and continue their risk reduction work in the heart of the local community.”

“It is a very exciting time for all those involved and we look forward to seeing the project come to fruition in a little over a year’s time.”

As well as housing its existing wholetime and retained crews, the station will become a new northern training hub for the service, with an upgraded road traffic collision training area and a brand new firehouse for breathing apparatus training - replicating the facility that currently exists at the recently-rebuilt Carlton Fire Station in the south of the county. In addition it will become the northern hub for vehicle maintenance.

Other features include three appliance bays, a gym, breathing apparatus area and a training / community room.

The new facility may be shared with East Midlands Ambulance Service in the future.

The station is hosting a special event on Saturday 3rd August where people can look at the plans for the new building. Organisers hope as many past and present firefighters and volunteers will attend.