Designs revealed for new joint ambulance, fire and police station in Lincoln

Plans for a new £15 million joint ambulance, fire and police campus in Lincoln have been revealed, with work to begin as soon as October if approved.

Proposals would see a new tri-service station built on the site of the existing fire and ambulance station at South Park Avenue. It will house over 400 staff.

Partners say the move will help improve frontline services and strengthen partnerships between emergency services in Lincoln.

The new station will feature a three storey building, with service specific office space, operational accommodation and shared areas.

The building would be home to ambulance crews covering the Lincoln area, Lincoln South’s firefighters and police officers and staff currently based at West Parade (which will be sold).

Initial designs were announced in summer 2016 as part of a project title the ‘Blue Light Collaboration Programme’. This also saw the fire service move its HQ to the current police HQ in Nettleham.

Lincolnshire County Council’s planning committee will consider the plans soon. If approved, work would begin in October 2017, with full construction starting in early 2018.

During this period, fire crews for south Lincoln will still respond from a temporary station on the South Park site and neighbourhood policing teams will move to City Hall in Lincoln. EMAS will continue to operate from their current location on South Park Avenue.

The Blue Light Programme in Lincolnshire is supported by a £7.5m grant from the Government’s Police Innovation Fund and match funding from local services.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones

Marc Jones, Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “A new, purpose built shared station at South Park, will be a major step forward in blue light services working together and will ensure tax payers’ money is spent effectively and efficiently.

“By leaving West Parade, with its costly overheads and maintenance costs, and moving to South Park and sharing with the fire and ambulance services, we can save money and encourage greater collaboration, ultimately delivering a better service for the communities we serve.

“Negotiations are at a very advanced stage to relocate the neighbourhood policing team for the city centre into City Hall alongside the ASB and licencing teams as part of the community hub.”

Nick Borrill. Photo: Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue

Chief Fire Officer, Nick Borrill, added: “In addition to responding to incidents, preventing fires from starting is a crucial part of the work of the modern fire and rescue service – so creating closer links with our opposites in the police and ambulance service will be really beneficial in helping us to protect local residents.

“It will also help for training, so for example, at the station, there will be a simulated search and rescue training facility and a practice road traffic collision area – great for our firefighters, police officers and ambulance crews to train together and try new ways of working.”

Richard Hunter, Lincolnshire Ambulance Operations Manager, said: “Our ambulance crews respond to around 500 emergency calls a day from people in Lincolnshire. We treat patients in their home, at the scene of an incident and on the way to hospital if further care is needed. This means most of our time is spent away from the ambulance station.

“Sharing a new building with the police and fire services is a sensible move that will allow us to invest more in our patient services, and to give colleagues improved facilities for use when they start and end their shift. The added bonus is being able to train and work more closely with our police and fire colleagues.”