Listing request refused for historic fire station

Avon Fire and Rescue Service wants to demolish and rebuild Bath Fire Station

The government says it will not give listed status to Bath's historic fire station.

The art deco fire station next to Cleveland Bridge was built in 1938, but Avon Fire and Rescue Service has warned that its bay doors are "too narrow" for modern fire engines and it should be demolished to build a modern facility.

Architectural and heritage campaigners have opposed the plans, asking for it to be listed instead of demolished.

However, The Department for Culture, Media & Sport said the building's criteria "did not meet the high bar for listing".

Local architect Alfred J Taylor began designing the fire station in 1937, with his daughter completing the project after his death a year later.

The station is a rare example of a building by a female architect in the 1930s.

In a letter issued in September, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport said: "While [culture minister Baroness Twycross] acknowledges that there is some historical interest particularly in relation to the female architect of the fire station, this is not sufficiently special to meet the high bar for listing."

Avon Fire and Rescue Service says it would be difficult to adapt the building to meet its needs

In a post on X, The Twentieth Century Society, which is campaigning to protect the building, said it would request a review of the government's decision.

"The sole criteria on which listing decisions should be made are architectural and historic interest," the post reads.

"Wider questions on social benefit and operations issues should be covered in subsequent listed building consent, and we're concerned the latter may have unduly influenced the listing decisions in these cases."

The fire service has warned that it would "not be achievable" to refurbish the current building to modern standards due to its age and structural issues.

Additionally, the need for on-call firefighters to live within a five-minute drive of the station means that moving to a new location would be hugely disruptive.

Under the plan to demolish and rebuild the fire station, some aspects of the historic building will be preserved, including the original fireman's pole and the current crest.