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10th August 2005

The South West Fire and Rescue control centre which will help deliver the best possible service to the public will be based at Taunton, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced today.

The control centre will be part of a new national network of control centres as part of the Government's major investment in modernising the Fire and Rescue Service to equip it for the demands of the 21st century. Nine control centres will replace the existing 46 local fire service control rooms across the country. Today the locations seven of the sites were named as:

- Blackbrook Business Park, Taunton, Somerset
- Belmont Business Park, Durham
- Lingley Mere Business Park, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire
- Cambridge Research Park, Cambridge
- Willow Farm Business Park, Castle Donington, Derbyshire
- Paragon Business Village, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
- Wolverhampton Business Park, Wolverhampton

Discussions with developers are being finalised in the South East and it is hoped to make an announcement shortly on the location of the South East centre. London already has a regional control centre which will be integrated into the national network in time for the Olympics in 2012.

Today's announcement was made by ODPM Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP, who has responsibility for Fire. He said:

"There is a compelling need to modernise and rationalise the control rooms in England, as part of the overall modernisation agenda. In the post-9/11 world, and in the wake of the events of 7th July, we need control centres that are resilient enough to deal with a terrorist attack or deal with any natural disaster. LondonÍs experience on the 7th July showed that only a regional control centre can deal effectively with an event of that scale particularly in terms of the specialist management required for inter-agency liaison and on-going communications to synchronise plans and deployment when the Fire and Rescue service is not the prime service on the scene. While existing control rooms do a good job, they are not designed to deal in a co-ordinated way with major regional or national incidents - they need improvement and investment.

"The national network will provide the Fire and Rescue Service with a modern, effective system that will better protect the public. The control centres will use the latest proven technology which will not only enable firefighters to respond more quickly to incidents but improve their safety by providing accurate information before they reach the scene. The network will deliver a service that is resilient and capable of responding to anything from a small house fire to a large scale national emergency. It will also be much more efficient, which will free up resources for other Fire and Rescue Service work, such as fire prevention."

Blackbrook Business Park was chosen taking into account factors such as accessibility (for both people and services), demographics, vulnerability to threats such as flooding and suitability for development.

Mr Fitzpatrick, himself a former firefighter, said:
"We recognise that establishing the new network will inevitably result in change for staff. We are working very closely with the national employers so that staff are treated well, and will continue to work hard to keep staff informed of developments as they happen.

"As it is for the Fire and Rescue Service, public safety is our priority. We will work with them and other stakeholders to take this important project forward. This is all about improving public safety and improving the Fire and Rescue Service."

Today's news was welcomed by Tom Carroll President of the Chief Fire Officers Association who said:
"CFOA is delighted that the ODPM has announced the locations of the new control centres today. CFOA has supported the FiReControl project from the outset, and this is a significant milestone. We are also delighted that ODPM is investing so much in the Fire and Rescue Service. Establishing this national network of nine centres will be a huge step in the modernisation of the Service. It will provide a better service for the public and will greatly improve resilience, particularly important in the light of recent events."

Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Cornwall, Steve Webster, who will be the Project Director for the South West FiReControl project, said:
"I am pleased that the location announcement has now been made in that it provides valuable direction for the project and the fire and rescue services within the South West Region. In particular the location announcement provides some answers to the concerns that existing fire control room staff have over their futures. The selection process has, I believe, been robust and I am confident that the location chosen is one of the best for the South West."

Richard Lloyd, Chief Executive of Summerfield Developments Ltd which won the contract to develop the site, said:
"We are delighted to have been chosen to work with the ODPM in the development of the fire and rescue control centre at Blackbrook and will be working closely with them to ensure the success of this important facility.

Our company has concentrated on developing facilities to meet occupiers' requirements and our experience in this sector is one of the reasons why we have been chosen amidst stiff competition. The other is that Blackbrook is a great place for people to work and is strategically placed to serve the South West region."

Work on the new site will begin in 2006 and work is currently underway to procure the infrastructure that will provide the state-of-the-art technology for the national network. All nine centres should be fully operational by 2009.

NOTES
1. The FireControl project - the move to regional control centres - is the result of an independent review of fire and rescue control rooms by Mott MacDonald which concluded that current arrangements are costly and inefficient. The Government published this report in December 2003 and consulted widely on its recommendations. The project forms part of the National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service which sets the objectives the Government expects the service to achieve. Copies of the framework and the Mott MacDonald report are available on the ODPM website.
2. The new Fire and Rescue Control Centres will be the result of over a year of intensive research and planning. Every part of the buildings has been designed to meet fire control needs and to provide staff with a high quality, secure and attractive place to work. The buildings will fit in with their local surroundings and meet or exceed environmental standards. The new control centres will be at the forefront of architectural design, exceeding many current health and safety, disability access and fire safety requirements. Control staff from across the country, at all levels, have contributed to the design process by making it clear what is important to them. As a result, the centres will be places which support control staff in delivering an excellent service to the public.
3. Blackbrook is approximately 31 acres in size, positioned on junction 25 of the M5, within two miles of Taunton town centre. Blackbrook also has a number of facilities for staff such as banking, shopping, entertainment and health and fitness and is served by public transport.
4. An artist's impression and photos of how the sites will look are available from the FireControl website www.firecontrol.odpm.gov.uk or by contacting the press office. Further information on the FiReControl project is available on the ODPM website http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_fire/documents/divisionhomepage/039000.hcsp
5. For further information from the Project Director please contact 01243 786221.
6. For further information from the developer please contact 01823 257961.

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