Fire station rebuild delayed for at least a year

The rebuild of Elm Lane fire station in Sheffield had already been put on hold because of rising costs

The planned rebuilding of a fire station in South Yorkshire will not go ahead for at least a year after construction costs “spiralled out of control”, a meeting has heard.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority previously said it wanted to replace Elm Lane fire station in Sheffield after it was deemed no longer fit for purpose.

There was “a high level of suspected asbestos” at the site and it had been hit by soaring energy prices and a lack of facilities, authority members were told in May.

Plans for the replacement building had already been delayed, but would now be put back to April 2025, a meeting of the fire authority heard on Monday.

The project to replace the fire station with a modular building was initially put on hold after costs rose by 188%, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But at Monday's meeting, the fire authority said it had decided to further delay the rebuild until the 2025-26 financial year, which would also affect planned refurbishments of Eyre Street fire service HQ and Thorne fire station in Doncaster.

'Go back and rethink'

Sara slater, the authority's financial services manager, said its financial outturn for 2024-25 was predicted to be £757,000 in surplus because of factors including higher than predicted funding grants and lower energy bills.

The delay would also give more time for a new estates and facilities manager to assess the situation, authority members heard.

However, Sheffield councillor Sue Alston said: “We’ve obviously saved some money in effect from delays but I don’t think delays are actually that desirable.”

Project costs could rise and end up costing more money in future, she added.

Andy Strelczenie, South Yorkshire's assistant chief fire officer, said there was still a firm commitment to rebuilding or refurbishing the Elm Lane site.

“The costs spiralled out of control and the group had to go back and rethink and request another condition survey," he said.

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