A bid for a £1.8 million rescue hub in Penrith has been revealed.
Penrith Mountain Rescue Team and the Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit have submitted a planning application to build the new operating base and rescue hub.
It will create a bespoke training, storage and garage facility, providing a hub for both teams’ operations in north eastern Cumbria, and across the wider county.
This planning submission will also trigger a major fundraising drive for the £1.8m to fund it.
Penrith Mountain Rescue Team said it had outgrown its current base, surrounded by homes, on Tynefield Drive.
Two years ago, it bought land off Cowper Road, on Eden Business Park on the western side of the town.
Working with Rod Hughes, from 2030 Architects Ltd, a design for the new shared base has been developed around the operational requirements of the two teams, including vehicle and equipment storage, training space, an energy-efficient drying room and meeting rooms.
The design, along with car parking space and landscaping, has now been submitted to Westmorland & Furness Council, as a planning application, which the team hopes to see approved in early 2025.
Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit – which operates county-wide – does not currently have an operating base, storing equipment and vehicles at members’ houses, outbuildings and premises.
The project will provide two garage bays to protect the team’s two Unimog vehicles from the weather and secure the team’s operations in years to come.
Penrith team leader Peter King said: “This long awaited milestone marks the beginning of a concerted campaign to raise the necessary construction funds.
“The team, a registered charity entirely run by volunteers, depends on donations and fundraising for income and, together with our COMRU colleagues, must raise all of the required funds for the new base by their own efforts.
“The team would like to thank the community and partner organisations for all the support received over many years, which enabled us to purchase the land and now enables us to be optimistic about replacing our current, outgrown base.”
Chris Jones, COMRU’s team leader, added: “This is a very exciting time for COMRU to have the prospect of a centralised location from which to train and operate.
“We recently hosted the national cave rescue conference up at Nenthead mines near Alston and we frequently train in this part of Cumbria.
“Our Unimog vehicles will already be familiar to supporters in Penrith as in the past we’ve displayed them at GoOutdoors and raised awareness of COMRU and its specialised role.”
