Emotional scenes as firefighters wave goodbye to old fire station
Serving and retired firefighters came together for a final parade at Stockport's old central fire station. Crews have now moved out of Stockport Community Fire Station ahead of work beginning on its 'state-of-the-art' replacement.
The building on King Street West - between the town centre and Edgeley -is being demolished and rebuilt as part of a £6m project.
Fire service bosses initially wanted to close the station, along with Whitehill station in Reddish, and merge them into one new station.
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But the large amount of redevelopment in the borough, particularly in and around the town centre, meant fire service chiefs were unable to find an affordable and suitable new site for the proposed new station.
In November 2022 it was announced they would be retaining both and spending £6m on each, rebuilding them.
The Stockport station is being done first. Crews working there have been relocated to Whitehill.
The Manchester branch of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) posted on Facebook on Tuesday saying: "Today Stockport fire station closed its doors for the last time.
"Crews will be working from Whitehill station whilst the old station at Stockport is demolished and the new one is built. Firefighters and retired Firefighters came together this morning for the last ever parade."
The new building is expected to be ready for firefighters to move into next September.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) insists there will be no reduction in the number of fire engines or firefighters during the rebuild, and say they are 'absolutely confident that we will continue to provide our excellent emergency response'.
"Firefighters will continue their usual duties in and around Stockport's station area, including prevention activities, school visits and training," they added.
Sarah Nattrass, Aassistant chief fire officer, said: 'Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service apologises for any delay residents have felt in us providing an update to our plans for Stockport fire station.
"We understand that any visible change in our arrangements can bring uncertainties and worries.
'The state-of-the-art fire station is set to be delivered in Autumn next year and will provide the community with a modern, flexible, resilient fire and rescue service.
'A public consultation was first undertaken in Spring 2023 to make sure the plans developed were in tune with the needs of the local community. Further details and updates have been available on our website throughout the process.
'I also want to reassure residents that there will be no reduction in the amount of fire engines or firefighters in the area during the rebuild process, with crews moving to nearby Whitehill station.
"This decision has been taken after extensive data analysis and we are absolutely confident that we will continue to provide our excellent emergency response both within the immediate area around Stockport King Street West Fire Station and across the wider borough of Stockport.
'I am committed to providing our local community opportunities to hear directly from us as the construction of the new community fire station, which will bring lasting benefits to the borough, progresses.'
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