South Cumbria’s first Blue Light Hub has officially opened, putting police, ambulance and fire crews under the same roof.
The multi-million-pound Furness Peninsular Blue Light Hub, next to the A590 in Ulverston, is a combined emergency response centre that brings together Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Cumbria Constabulary and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).
Cumbria County Council has delivered the combined Blue Light Hub facility, which includes:
- Office accommodation for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Cumbria Constabulary and NWAS.
- Operational facilities such as breathing apparatus workshop, drying room for firefighters’ PPE and equipment storage.
- Fire house training facility.
- Appliance bay accommodating two fire engines and one ambulance.
- Conference/meeting room facilities.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to see the completion of this fantastic new facility which will bring blue light services together and benefit the local community,” explained Janet Willis, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for fire and rescue.
“Working together under one roof will provide even greater opportunities for collaboration with our blue light partners and will also deliver significant savings to the public purse.”
David E. Southward, MBE, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for economic development and property, said: “This new building provides a range of facilities for the fire and rescue service, including the fire house where firefighters can train in a smoke-filled environment.”
“This facility hasn’t been available in South Cumbria previously, so firefighters had to travel to Penrith to the closest fire training facility. This improvement creates greater training opportunities in the area and reduces travel time for staff.”
John Beard, Cumbria County Council’s chief fire officer, added: “The Furness Peninsular Blue Light Hub provides much improved facilities for our staff in the Ulverston area. The building is also ideally located next to the A590 main road in Furness, which will help to maintain a rapid response to emergency incidents.
“We’re looking forward to working alongside our blue light partners and maximising opportunities for even closer collaboration.”
Superintendent for South Cumbria Matt Pearman said: “When the emergency services and other partner agencies work together the whole community benefits. The new hub will see experienced police officers working alongside colleagues from Cumbria Fire and Rescue, North West Ambulance Service, Cumbria County Council and others.
“This will result in all agencies having a greater understanding of what is going on in the community and an enhanced ability to tackle the issues most important to the public.”
Roger Jones, NWAS Head of Service for Cumbria and Lancashire, said: “This is a much-needed step to upgrade the facilities at Ulverston and ultimately this new location should improve our response times to the public.
“There are many advantages to working so closely with our blue light and local authority partners, while the investment also delivers better value for money.
“The new station provides adequate space for current emergency and patient transport vehicles, and I’m sure our staff are excited to be working from a fresh, modern building.”
Fire and Rescue Service staff have moved into the new hub, which replaces the old fire station on The Ellers, Ulverston.
A ceremony had been planned to mark the official opening of the Furness Peninsular Blue Light Hub, however, this has been postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing guidance.
It is hoped an open day will be held at a later date.
Cumbria County Council secured £4.9m from the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Fire Transformation Fund for the Blue Light Hub project.
The new hub building links to an access road from the A590 to Ulverston’s Beehive Business Park, home to a number of nationally known retail outlets.
