HEREFORD'S fire station could be bulldozed and replaced with a state-of-the-art new building.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has asked Herefordshire Council if it can demolish the existing fire station in St Owen Street, as well as the training tower and other buildings.

In its place, it wants to build a new four-storey fire station, training tower, associated car parking and cycle storage, external training area, refuel facility, substations, telecommunications antenna, vehicular access and associated works.

OTHER NEWS:

Consultants Bond Bryan said the existing 1950s fire station is no longer fit for purpose, uneconomic to operate and poor in its environmental performance.

The proposed new building, which needs to be approved by Herefordshire Council planners, will have four double appliance bays alongside appropriate operational accommodation and welfare requirements for the fire and rescue service, consultants said.

Want to get the latest breaking news alerts sent straight to you? It's easy, just sign up for our breaking news email alerts here and the most important stories will be delivered straight to your inbox.

The site will also have a training tower alongside staff/operational and visitor car parking and electric vehicle charging points.

The ground floor, which would have the main entrance from St Owen Street and a staff entrance at the rear, would also have drive-through bays for fire engines, a pole drop from the upper floors, and kit and equipment space.

On the first floor would be a watch and community room, as well as office space.

On the second floor, there would be accommodation for crews, including a gym, a multi-faith space, a pole drop and a training room.

OTHER NEWS:

Up on the third floor, there would be more offices and meeting space.

The proposed scheme provides a total of 26 car parking spaces comprising of 15 car parking bays, one disabled parking space and 10 on-call parking bays. There would also be four parking bays to the rear of the site for cars used for crash training.

The proposed materials to be used to build the fire station are a mix of brickwork with metal cladding.

Consultation on application 223339 is open until January 8.

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.