Multi-million upgrade for fire stations expected to start this year, service bosses say

The '˜close proximity crewing' arrangement, where firefighters spend extended periods at their station on an '˜on call' basis, has been ruled to infringe legislation around working practices and is being phased out.

Stations used for that system, at Lowedges in Sheffield, Tankersley, Barnsley, Aston Park, Rotherham and Edlington, Doncaster, have all been earmarked for improvement work which will bring them up to modern standards, with work such as replacing leaking windows.

It is envisaged that refurbishment will leave them in sound condition for the next 10 to 15 years, at a cost of around £3m.

Meanwhile, it is also expected progress will be made on providing a new £4m fire station for Barnsley.

The projects are part of a long-term plan for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to make substantial investments in future-proofing the brigade, as finances are expected to become increasingly tight in the years ahead.

However, progress has been slower than expected and authority member Coun Malcolm Clements, who also sits on Barnsley Council, said: 'I am extremely frustrated at the lack of progress, seeing spades in the ground.

'Could we have some indication of when we can see some spades in the ground? I refer in particular to the new Barnsley fire station.'

Coun Clements was told the first phase of work to replace Barnsley's fire station had been signed before Christmas and the next stage would be making a planning application for the new premises.

It is anticipated that work on site could start within the next 12 months.

Other work is already in progress, including work on the heating system at the Eyre Street headquarters in Sheffield and Dearne fire station, which has experienced problems with an environmentally friendly ground source heat pump.

Work on moving those projects forward has also delayed the collaboration enterprise between the fire and police services in South Yorkshire, which are now attempting to work more closely to improve efficiency and save money in future.

They are working towards a joint estates '“ or property '“ department, but authority members were told progress on that had been slowed by the need to make progress with other matters.

Reviews which had left fewer staff in place were blamed for the delays, with members told the service had 'put the brake on collaboration' until the more pressing issues had been resolved, with an expectation of a greater focus on joint working from the summer onwards.

Chief Fire Officer Jamie Courtney told the meeting: 'South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is by necessity a very lean organisation.

'In terms of back office staff, we have had two services reviews in the last two years. Our teams are small and in the estates department, most are new.

'It would be irresponsible to allow the focus on collaboration to detract from day to day work.

'We have not been able to allow certain members of staff to direct their attention to collaboration because they need to focus on the day to day running of the department.'

South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, sits on the authority and he said a joint head of estates had been appointed and 'there is a job to do that involves collaboration.

'I recognise the pressures on South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. I think there are ways of managing that without detracting from the she (the joint head of estates) is being asked to do. I think there is a way forwards,' he said.