No decision yet on location of new Hebburn fire station

More than £4m has been allocated for the project, but delays to a feasibility report means work is now not expected to begin until the next financial year which starts in April.

The new station could also be shared with other emergency services, such as police or paramedics, although they are not expected to help pick up the bill for construction.

Strategic Finance Manager Dennis Napier told a meeting of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority: “There’s more detailed work being done on the most appropriate site.

“Because of the delays in identifying the best site for the station we’re going to slip into next year.

“We expect building to be completed in the next financial year, but there will be a separate report once we’ve identified the replacement site.”

According to a report prepared for the fire authority, £4,250,000 has been allocated to replace Hebburn’s current fire station, in Victoria Road West.

The cash from the fire authority’s savings has been earmarked for the project.

At the same time, the fire and rescue services in Hebburn are facing an uncertain future due to cost-cutting plans announced last year.

The proposals, which are out for public consultation, could save more than £3m by 2021/22, if all options are adopted.

In Hebburn, this could see the station’s fire engine manned by a part-time crew of ‘on-call’ firefighters who live or work within five minutes during the day. At night, support would be provided by crews from South Shields.

A heavy rescue appliance based at the station could also be moved to South Shields Community Fire Station.

Up to 70 jobs could also be cut from the service, although it has said it does not expect to have to make any redundancies to achieve this.

Consultation on the savings plans is due to run until Monday, January 28.

James Harrison

James Harrison , Local Democracy Reporting Service