The soon-to-be-vacant headquarters of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service could be transformed into a housing development after plans were put forward to redevelop the site.
The fire 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 on the hub is nearing completion and, once in use, will see the fire and rescue 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 Borough Council.
Planning documents submitted to the council state 32 homes would be built on the headquarters site, split between 14 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 new development.
The planning documents state: “The application site is currently home to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
“The site is to be relocated at a new joint headquarters with the Police based at Sherwood Lodge. 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 that, with a reduction in staffing numbers on-site and no use of the existing conference room facilities, the development will lead to a large reduction in traffic to the area.
Early estimations for the new joint headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, off the A60 near Burnt Stump, said the development will be complete by the end of 2021.
Both emergency services said last year they intend to move into the facility in early 2022.
Speaking last year, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service area manager Bryn Coleman said: “The joint headquarters 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 to build on the strong relationship that already exists between both services.”
Work on the new headquarters was undertaken by Beeston-based contractors Henry Brothers Midlands, which started in July 2020.
Police and fire currently share premises at Highfields, West Bridgford and London Road fire stations, and the tri-service hub in Hucknall.
The two organisations also jointly procure fuel, have a shared drone and incident welfare vehicle, and conduct joint safety and educational initiatives.
