Plans are moving ahead to replace and rebuild fire stations across Nottinghamshire.
Councillors sitting on Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority made the decision to progress with plans on a new Eastwood Fire Station on Friday, October 15.
They approved for feasibility work worth £16,000 to be brought forward into a 2021/22 budget.
The £1.5m project to replace Eastwood Fire Station in Nottingham Road was due to commence in 2022/23.
However, feasibility work for this project needs to start in the later part of 2021/22 to enable work to start in 2022/23.
The meeting also looked at the new joint headquarters of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is under construction and set to be shared with Nottinghamshire Police at Sherwood Lodge.
The fire service said the project is “progressing well” but electrical and mechanical elements of the build may lead to some additional costs and a programme extension.
Options for the disposal of the current fire headquarters at Bestwood Lodge are being explored.
A new fire station in Worksop was also mentioned. The design for the new station and the tendering process is complete.
Additional costs have been identified mainly due to the need of renewable energy devices (Air Source Heat Pump) and self-generated electrical power. The site also requires piled foundations.
The three-year budget was set at £3.8m. The tender has been awarded and costs are expected to be nearer £3.9m, which is over budget by £239,000.
The fire service said the project will be monitored closely to try to bring it back on budget.
If this is not possible, it may be necessary to re-allocate underspends from elsewhere in the capital programme to fund the increased expenditure.
The project was expected to start in 2021/22 but there have been delays in the supply of the steal for the project and this has resulted in anticipated slippage into 2021/22 of £281,000.
