Two fire stations which were under threat of closure have been saved and will now be fully rebuilt, it has been confirmed. Plans to close Stockport fire station on King Street West near the town centre, and Whitehill station in Reddish and merge them into one new station were first unveiled three years ago.
However, the large amount of redevelopment in the borough, particularly in and around the town centre, meant fire service chiefs were unable to find an affordable and suitable new site for the proposed new station.
In what has been hailed as a 'great news' for locals and firefighters, bosses have now performed a U-turn and announced they will be retaining both stations.
They will also will be completely redeveloping both of them, replacing the aging buildings with two new 'state of the art' stations on the same sites costing £6 million each. They are both expected to be completed in the next four years.
The 28 firefighters based at Stockport fire station attended 1,239 incidents last year whilst the 28 based at Whitehill responded to 861. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) Area Manager Mike Clark said the proposed merger would have meant compromising on response to incidents.
"Ultimately it's a really good news story," he told the Manchester Evening News . "It's a good news story for the local firefighters, where the prospect of the merger had been in front of them.
"But it's also a great news story for the community as well. As not only are we not merging the stations we are putting some considerable investment back into the community with what we plan to do now, building two brand new stations on the original sites."
"What that also provides for us is the assurance that the level of response we have in Stockport, remains the same," he said. "We already feel our response and the level of cover we provide for that part of Greater Manchester is where it should be. It meets all our standards and this means that will remain the same
"And by putting this investment in, we've given ourselves some reassurances that we are future-proofing our fire cover in an ever-growing part of Greater Manchester.
Mr Clark said crews had been told the news in person and there would be "extensive consultation" with local firefighters regarding what the new stations should look like.
"The overwhelming response has been positive, they recognise and welcome that investment, they appreciate work we've done over the past three years and I think they are grateful that as an orginsation we have been brave enough to take a different direction," he said.
Mr Clark said the redevelopments would come in the first phase of the fire service's 16-year capital rebuild programme and that they should both be completed and fully operational within four years, with the same number of firefighters and fire engines based at each.
One rebuild will be completed around a year to 18 months before the second, although the order they would be carried on had not yet been decided.
Options for during the building phases, including temporary mergers, were being considered he added but said it is expected that at least one fire engine would still be based in Reddish and central Stockport whilst construction work was being carried out Mr Clark said.
"These are busy, important stations for us," he said. "We have some highly populated parts of the Stockport community and places that we do visit as part of our emergency response regularly. It's a really important investment, it's a decision we're really happy made that we've made."
Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire Bev Hughes, said: "Following extensive exploration and initial consultation, and in the context of Stockport town centre becoming one of the UK’s largest regeneration areas, a suitable site that would allow us to maintain our high standards for the service could not be found. I have therefore decided not to proceed with this option.
“GMFRS is always looking at how it can improve the way it serves and protects the people of Greater Manchester, and it is right that we explore options to maximise this. However, fundamental to any change is ensuring that the response times of firefighters and the level of service provided is never compromised and this factor took precedence over any merger."
The leader of Stockport Council, Coun Mark Hunter said the authority "strongly welcomed" the move. "This is good news for Stockport residents and the safety of the borough," he said.
"Our local fire crews have an incredibly important role in responding to incidents, but also in terms of prevention, and I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the council to thank them for all they do for residents.”
Stockport MP Navendu Mishra said: "As Stockport town centre undergoes regeneration, we are seeing increasing development and the borough already has the second highest number of high rises in Greater Manchester.
"In that context, I believe it is very important for there to be fully serviced and staffed fire stations in our constituency. That’s why I have been campaigning with the Fire Brigades Union to ensure that the Kings Street West site stays open.”
Edgeley councillor Matt Wynne said people in the area "would not have tolerated" the station being moved.
"I'm glad to hear the correct decision has been made and not only will it continue providing stellar response times for Edgeley residents in emergencies, the fire station will also receive the capital investment it warrants given it is an aging station without modern facilities for staff," he said.
In 2019 it was announced six fire stations were earmarked to close. As well as the two in Stockport, Bolton Central and Bolton North; plus Philips Park and Manchester Central, were also on the hit list. It was said at the time if the six stations closed they would be replaced with three new ones, with potential sites already being identified. So far none have been closed. But Manchester Central occupies a site which would be likley to be snapped up by developers as the city centre explosion of high-rise apartments continues.
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