Soon-to-be-vacant Notts fire HQ could become homes

The service is due to move into its new, shared headquarters with Nottinghamshire Police in the coming months as part of an £18.5 million project.

It will see the joint base, at the police’s Sherwood Lodge hub, transformed into a three-storey building with a new control room, training centre, changing rooms, gym, canteen and refurbished offices for the two emergency services.

Construction is nearing completion and, once in use, will see the service leave its existing Bestwood Lodge Drive headquarters near Arnold.

Now developers have put forward plans to transform the existing fire hub into housing, with a planning application lodged to Gedling Council.

Planning documents state 32 homes would be built on the site, 4 three-bedroom and 18 four-bedroom houses.

The land would continue to be accessed via Bestwood Lodge Drive, but developers plan to remove existing barriers used by the fire service to make the development ‘more open and an integral part of the local community’.

If approved, all buildings at the existing headquarters would be demolished to make way for the development.

Redeveloped

Planning documents state: “The site is currently home to Nottinghamshire fire service.

“The site is to be relocated at a new joint headquarters with the police. Therefore, the existing site is proposed to be redeveloped.

“The proposed scheme will involve the demolition of all existing buildings on site and replaced with 32 privately-owned residential properties.

Developers also believe, with a reduction in staff numbers on-site and no use of the existing conference facilities, the development will lead to a reduction in traffic to the area.

Early estimations for the new joint headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, off the A60 near Burnt Stump, said it will be complete by the end of 2021.

Both services said last year they intend to move into the facility in early 2022.

Speaking last year, fire service area manager Bryn Coleman said: “The project is a great opportunity to bring both organisations closer together, enabling us to work collaboratively with our police colleagues to provide safer communities.

“The new headquarters will help build on the strong relationship that already exists between both services.”

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