Plans for new Hereford fire station approved

Plans for the Station on St Owen Street, Hereford, were passed by Herefordshire Council

A new fire station will be built on the site of a current 1950s building after plans were approved by a council.

The existing station in St Owen Street, Hereford, was "no longer fit for purpose and uneconomic to operate", the fire service said in its application for planning permission.

The new building, with training tower and car parking, will have a broadly similar footprint.

Its design aims to maximise natural daylight with floor-to-ceiling glazing.

The new station will replace the current 1950s building

Hereford City Council, which shares the same street, said while it did not object to the plan, it had "reservations regarding the retention of the building itself, as it posed a unique example of the city's 1950s architecture".

However, the government's built heritage agency Historic England said that although well-built, the current building "lacks the degree of special architectural interest" to justify being listed.

Among conditions attached to the approval from Herefordshire Council are a requirement to provide details of all noise-generating equipment, an archaeological survey and a travel plan "to promote alternative sustainable means of transport for staff and visitors".