Plans submitted for town's new fire station

Nikki Watson said Kettering's existing fire station had reached the end of its life

A town is set for a new fire station after a planning application was submitted.

The proposed new fire station for Kettering would be built in Cherry Hall Road, next to the joint Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service and Northamptonshire Police Northern Accommodation Building and Weekley Woods Justice Centre.

Plans submitted by the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OFPCC) said the three-storey building would be "state of the art" and would deliver "fit-for-purpose facilities".

The existing Kettering fire station, opened on the Headlands in 1955, is located next to Bishop Stopford secondary school where there are traffic and parking issues.

Northamptonshire chief fire officer Nikki Watson said the existing station was "coming to the end of its life" and was "not up to standard".

She said: "[The current station] was designed at a time when there were only male firefighters.

"The new station will provide proper facilities for both male and female firefighters."

She said it would also provide firefighters with additional training facilities and said a contractor was being sought for its construction.

Kettering's fire station on the Headlands suffers from traffic and parking issues

Plans submitted to North Northamptonshire Council show that as well as the main fire station building, the scheme would also deliver a 203 sq m (2,185 sq ft) storage building and a four-storey fire training tower.

The OFPCC's proposals also state the new station would offer "improved access to major routes, helping crews respond more quickly and efficiently".

The station would be built on land owned by the OFPCC.

Crews will continue to operate from the existing fire station as normal while the application progresses and during its construction, if approved.

A contractor is being sought "in readiness" for the proposed fire station's approval