Bishop’s Waltham boasts a rich firefighting history, and today it marked a new chapter with the opening of the town’s brand new fire station.
The current crew welcomed local dignitaries and senior officers to the Lower Lane site for the official opening of the station, which is where firefighters have been based since 1960.
Planning permission was granted in August 2021 before the team moved into their temporary site in February last year. A few weeks later the old building was demolished prior to the ground-breaking ceremony almost a year ago today.
The on-call firefighters who live and work within the local community, and respond to incidents via their pagers, held their first weekly drill night at the new build earlier this month.
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin introduced speeches from Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Rhydian Vaughan MBE and HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson, Esq.
Head of Property and Facilities, Arron Hedges, Station Manager Jamie Cousins, and Morgan Sindall Construction’s Cliff Kinch also said a few words to mark the grand opening of Hampshire’s newest fire station.
Guests were also treated to a tour of the station’s better working and training facilities, including a new tower, as well as a dedicated community engagement area.
The state-of-the-art building is also integrated with nesting bricks to encourage local wildlife, and once they were installed one bird moved in almost immediately!
Bishop’s Waltham Watch Manager Ady Smith said:
“I am extremely proud to hold this post during such a historic period for the station and town.
“The excellent facilities we now have access to will help us keep the public safe.
“As well as training and responding to incidents, we will be able to reach out and engage with our local community from our new station.”
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin said:
“This is a modern fire station designed to support our dedicated on-call firefighters in serving their local community.
“The building, with its new training facilities and bespoke community engagement spaces, will be of great benefit to the people of Bishop’s Waltham, and the wider county, and will help the fire service make life safer.
“I know that this new station, and the teams who represent it, will continue to be at the heart of the town for years to come.”
Chairman of the HIWFRA, Cllr Rhydian Vaughan MBE said:
“Today’s official opening ceremony marks a new era for our Bishop’s Waltham firefighters and the local community which they live and work within.
“The bespoke training facilities and focus on community engagement demonstrates that the organisation is at the forefront of modern firefighting.
“It is an honour to be a part of this landmark day for the fire service.”
Arron Hedges, Head of Properties and Facilities at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“We are committed to providing stations with modern and inclusive facilities for the benefit of our colleagues and the communities we’re so proud to serve.
“We worked closely with Morgan Sindall Construction to ensure the new build met our estate design principles, and it’s exciting we are now able to officially open the station and look back on all the work that led us to this point.
“The rebuild of Bishop’s Waltham Fire Station is part of our wider estates improvement programme, with upgrades planned at more stations across Hampshire and Isle of Wight and a brand new fire station at Cosham, set to become operational next year.”
Cliff Kinch, Area Director, Morgan Sindall said:
“It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate the completion of such a significant project for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and the local community.
“The new Bishop’s Waltham fire station is now able to meet the evolving needs of the fire service with its improved and modernised facilities, creating a better environment for its firefighters.
“It’s been great to work closely with the Southern Construction Framework to deliver this new building for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service who are investing in their facilities for their workforce and local communities.
“Communities are at the heart of what we do here at Morgan Sindall Construction and throughout this project we’ve collaborated with local residents and community groups to deliver a positive social and economic legacy.”
Work commenced last month on the new Cosham Fire Station, with the three-storey building set to boast improved training facilities, separate clean and dirty zones for managing contamination, plus space for partners.
The wholetime firefighters at Cosham are set to move across the road from their current site, next year upon completion.
The last station to be built by the service was opened in Basingstoke five years ago.
