London Fire Brigade plan to refurbish its headquarters

by Breaking NewsProjects

London Fire Brigade has revealed it has submitted a planning application for the refurbishment of its site at 8 Albert Embankment.

The application also includes plans to modernise Lambeth Fire Station, which forms part of the building.

8 Albert Embankment site

The building at 8 Albert Embankment was constructed by the Brigade in the 1930’s as a combined fire station and office block.

The fire station occupies the ground and first floors of the building, with six floors of office space above.

The office space was used as the Brigade’s headquarters until 2008 when it was relocated to Southwark.

It is currently vacant and the plans will make use of the Brigade’s own estate, rather than continue leasing commercial property.

The proposed plans will see the building’s vacant office space refurbished and brought back into service.

These offices will become home to the essential support services that make up the Brigade’s headquarters function.

Renovating Lambeth Fire Station

Alongside the renovated office space, work will be carried out to upgrade and refit Lambeth Fire Station.

This will include new equipment stores and workspaces, as well as remodeled accommodation for firefighters.

As a Grade II listed structure, extra care will be taken to preserve key historic elements found in the building’s original design.

The training space in the yard and drill tower will also receive investment and the appliance bays will be adapted to accommodate specialist vehicles if required.

As a part of the proposals, a new space will be created, centred around the Brigade’s existing Memorial Hall, where the sacrifice of fallen London firefighters is remembered.

This space will allow the Brigade’s historic collection to be displayed, which will be used for educational purposes and community outreach.

There will also be a community room for local residents and groups to use.

To ensure the views and needs of nearby residents and the local community were considered, the Brigade conducted a series of consultations with the local community prior to submitting this planning application, which follows a thorough options appraisal.

Fire Commissioner, London, Jonathan Smith’s statement

London Fire Commissioner Jonathan Smith said: “Moving our headquarters back to its historic location in Lambeth is not just the right decision for the Brigade, but also for London and Londoners.

“By refurbishing and modernising an existing building we will be offering the best value for Londoners and maintaining an important presence on the Thames and in the heart of London.

“These plans will deliver an upgraded fire station to serve the people of Lambeth as well as some of London’s most celebrated locations.”

Henry Brothers appointed to build £18.5 million joint police and fire HQ

by Featured NewsProjects

Henry Brothers Midlands has won a contract to build a new £18.5 million joint headquarters for Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service. The three-storey facility will be constructed on land behind the existing Nottinghamshire Police headquarters at Sherwood Lodge and is scheduled to open by the end of 2021.

Work on the new building, which will include a control room, training centre, changing rooms, gym, canteen and shared offices, is expected to begin next month. Once complete it will form part of a wider joint campus that will also include all of the existing police headquarters.

After a competitive tendering process Nottingham-based Henry Brothers Midlands has been chosen to construct the new three-storey building. A formal contract was agreed on 29th June.

Since planning permission was granted in December 2019, a considerable amount of work has already taken place on this multi-phase project under the direction of construction consultancy Gleeds.

The site, which will include a new access road, additional car parking and improvements to existing facilities, has already been levelled and cleared – ahead of time and below budget.

Ian Taylor, Managing Director of Henry Brothers Midlands, said: “As a local company, we are delighted to have been appointed to build this new joint headquarters building for Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.”

The joint headquarters project is the next step in a series of collaboration projects between the two services, which already share premises at Highfields, West Bridgford and London Road fire stations, and at the new tri-service hub in Hucknall. The two organisations also jointly procure fuel, have a shared drone and incident welfare vehicle, and conduct joint safety and educational initiatives.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “This is a significant day in the history of this project and also a good time to reflect on the huge amount of work that has taken place since we began preparing the ground once we got the planning decision at the back end of last year.”

Chair of the Fire Authority, Cllr Michael Payne, added: “This is fantastic news in what has, in recent months, undoubtedly been an extremely challenging time for our police and fire staff, the wider public sector and our communities across the whole of the city and county.

“The appointment of a local company to build our new joint headquarters reinforces our commitment to the people of Nottinghamshire, and I look forward to the next phase of the project where we will start to see the redevelopment of Sherwood Lodge taking shape, and the relationship between the two organisations going from strength to strength.”

Campaigners push for London Fire Brigade HQ plan

by Featured News

Campaigners against a £500m plan to redevelop the art deco, former London Fire Brigade headquarters on the Albert Embankment in Central London, have pledged to step up their opposition in the wake of the scheme being called in.
The mixed-use project has been drawn up by architect Pilbrow & Partners for developer U&I and will include two towers of 26 and 24 storeys respectively built behind the 1937 grade II-listed Thames-side building, which was at the heart of the brigade’s firefighting operation during the Blitz.

However, Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick wants a second opinion. The scheme, which was given planning permission by Lambeth Council in December 2019, has been called in because of heritage concerns and the impact of the towers on nearby Lambeth Palace and the Westminster World Heritage Site.
Government heritage adviser, Historic England, raised concerns about the plans while objectors have included the 20th Century Society, the Skyline Campaign while former Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey took to Twitter on Friday praising Jenrick for calling the scheme in.

A spokesperson for the Waterloo Community Development Group said: “It is criminal that these central London sites have been left mostly vacant for 20 years in public ownership, yet all successive mayors [of London] can do is back schemes helicoptered in and completely out-of-scale or context and of little use to London or Londoners.
“Real people living in real social housing will lose up to 40% of their daylight because of safety-deposit boxes posing piled 90m high beside them.”

U&I had hoped construction would start on site next year and be completed in 2025. In a statement, the firm said: “[Jenrick’s] decision means [work] could now be significantly delayed. The plans followed extensive consultation with the local community [and] will positively transform a site that has lain vacant for almost 10 years.”

Other firms working on the scheme include structures and M&E engineer WSP, cost consultant Core 5, project manager Second London Wall and planning consultant Lichfields. A planning inspector’s report is expected to land on Jenrick’s desk this Autumn at the earliest.