Police and fire are now working alongside each other at Hanley to protect the public, after work on the former Hanley fire station was completed on time, despite the pandemic.
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime, Matthew Ellis today congratulated all those involved for delivering the project successfully and on time, despite the huge challenges presented by the pandemic.
The building work started in the summer to make Hanley fire station suitable for Staffordshire Police’s northern response team to work alongside fire colleagues.
This latest project, which comes after both services successfully started working together at Tamworth more than a year ago, delivers on promises made by the Commissioner to make them more sustainable financially, enabling funds to be ploughed back into both services.
The aim was to use public money and resources in a better way by saving money on two emergency service premises, which were within walking distance of each other. The result is one building, which provides impressive accommodation for both and represents significantly improved facilities for police.
It is another key step in police and fire collaborating, which has seen the development so far of shared services and staffing in areas such as Estates, Procurement, Human Resources, Finance and Corporate Communications. There will be other shared locations, where it’s appropriate and the right thing for both services.
Matthew Ellis said:
‘This is a real achievement to have completed this work against the backdrop of a global pandemic and I’d like to thank all involved for their exceptional work in extraordinary circumstances.
‘I was very impressed when I visited the station in November during the construction work and I look forward to visiting again when it’s appropriate to do so, to see how police and fire are enjoying the new premises.
‘Sharing buildings is not only good value for public money, it will help to maintain spending on our emergency services in what is likely to be a very difficult financial climate post-Covid.
‘Spending public money more effectively means it can be ploughed back into both services and that has always been my priority, and it has never been more relevant than in these challenging times.
‘Bringing the two services together in Hanley fire station, which is an impressive large, modern, operational building has always made sense. Especially when both services were situated in the centre of Hanley, just a few hundred yards from each other.
‘The police station is about to go on the market and will be sold to raise as much money for the public purse as possible.’
Chief Fire Officer Becci Bryant said: ‘I am really thankful to all the team for their efforts in delivering this important piece of work.
‘Against the backdrop of the Coronavirus pandemic, the hard work of our staff, alongside those at Staffordshire Police and the Commissioner’s Office, has ensured that this project has been completed successfully.
‘There’s been a real can-do spirit within our respective teams and this will only benefit communities going forward, allowing closer working by two organisations who are focused on keeping people safe.’
Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said: ‘It is exciting to see this complex project come to fruition and a testament to the hard work and energy of many colleagues within the force, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and the Commissioner’s Office.
‘The move is a huge achievement given all of the challenges to manage, including those posed by Covid – and it will help to create further opportunities to improve service and outcomes for local communities and create a safer Staffordshire.’
The new station will be known as Fire and Police Hanley.
