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Clare's fire crew to get new station!
A NEW fire station is to be built at Clare as part of a major building and redevelopment programme worth a £14 million - announced by Suffolk Fire Service.
The new retained fire station is one of five to be built across the county, replacing existing stations that are either no longer fit for their purpose or are beyond economic repair. The new Clare fire station will be built on the existing site.
The redevelopment, which is set to be funded via a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme also includes two brand new fire stations for the east of Ipswich and south Lowestoft. Companies are invited to bid to become involved and bids will be considered by Suffolk County Council in December.
The scheme will also provide facilities management to all fire service premises, and the introduction of community facilities at certain stations, to enhance and reinforce the service’s community education programme.#
Peter Monk, county council portfolio holder for public protection, said: “If we are going to maintain the extremely high service we currently provide to Suffolk residents, then we need to improve our fire stations and think seriously about where they are located.”
“This private finance initiative addresses those issues. It is also critical that we make our new stations more open and accessible to the community.”
“We will save more lives through talking to communities about fire safety than we ever will answering emergency calls. The new stations will help us achieve the county council’s aim of reducing lives lost by fire or accidents.”
Ray Nowak, portfolio holder for resources, said: “The PFI is significantly the most cost effective way for us to proceed with this scheme. We can attract significant levels of government investment, which reduces the overall cost of the project to Suffolk Council Tax payers.”
Story By: Jo Deeks editonal@haverhillweeklynews.co.uk
Date : 17-05-2004
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