St Neots Fire Station: Delivering Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Most Sustainable Station
St Neots fire station, on the edge of the Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border, started its life in 1965 as an on-call station. Like many other towns, the population outgrew the station’s operational capacity, and in the 1970s, the station changed to a day-crewed model. Despite increased occupancy, the fire station remained largely unchanged for the next 50-plus years.
The estate within Cambridgeshire has been modernised systematically, and when St Neots reached the top of the capital programme, a plan to modernise the station was developed. Without question, the need to expand was driven by growth within the town. Following a CIL funding application, Huntingdonshire District Council awarded a £ 700,000 grant. This meant that the upgrade was now adequately financed and ready to go, utilising the existing site (which was deemed to provide the most effective operational cover for the St Neots area). The total project costs came in just over £2m, including the CIL funding.
The guiding principles of the design were to modernise the station, factoring in dignity at work, Health & Safety and welfare, control of contaminants and sustainability innovation. It has become the first station within the Service’s estate to have limited carbon emissions, utilising an air-source heat pump, solar, LED lighting, EV charging facilities, and improved insulation, with a new high-performance overlay roof featuring solar PV. (photovoltaic) panels
The refurbishment project involved operating on-call and day crewed operational capability whilst the construction work was carried out. Stringent H&S controls and close working relationships with Nevilles Special Projects (the principal contractor) ensured the project was completed without any serious incidents or accidents. There were some interesting findings during the work, including that the Ambulance station next door has been receiving free water from the fire station for as long as we are aware, and that the cost to remove the main gas supply was significantly higher than anticipated.
The success of the project was built on strong relationships among the Property Team, the Contractor, the Building Surveyors, and station personnel.
Contaminant control was at the forefront of the refurbishment design, and extensive consultation with our operational staff, representative bodies, and station personnel ensured that the refurbished station naturally controls contaminants. This includes external personal protective equipment (PPE) collection points, external access to BA cleaning rooms, external washing facilities with hot-tap provision, and adequate zoning throughout the station. St Neots was also the first station to trial a ‘clean’ drying cupboard separate to the main station drying room.
It was fortunate that the existing site had sufficient land to accommodate a new extension and to allow for future crewing provisions.
As previously mentioned, the success of the project is largely due to the teamwork and support from Nevilles Special Projects (principal contractor), Ingleton Woods (Architect and building surveyors), James Lawson Planning Ltd (CIL Application), Huntingdonshire District Council, and the support of the senior management team/Fire Authority.
Positive outcomes
- The use of specialists to obtain CIL Funding
- Selection of the most appropriate building surveyors and utilising public sector frameworks as a procurement approach.
- Maintaining an effective and efficient operational response during the refurbishment by robust controls, consistent monitoring, station personnel support and hard work
- Utilising the knowledge and experience from operational staff to develop a functional fit-for-purpose, future-proofed station.
We are looking forward to monitoring the station consumption and bills in the months ahead to ensure all the efforts are having the desired impact we expect.
The service is happy to share information relating to the project
Ryan Forman
Property Service & Maintenance Manager
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
Ryan joined the service in February 2021. His role as Property Service & Maintenance Manager includes management of general maintenance, helpdesk/property engineers, cyclical maintenance, contractor management for suppliers, cleaning services, revenue works, waste management, and capital investment.
For more information please visit Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service website.