Green light for joint police and fire headquarters

Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee has agreed to Nottinghamshire Police's current Sherwood Lodge base being transformed with a brand new building to include Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service on the same site. 

It is hoped sharing headquarters will increase efficiency and allow the two organisations to work together better when dealing with major incidents.

The plans for the new headquarters includes a new single police control room in one location to replace the current split between Sherwood Lodge and the Northern Control Centre and Mansfield police station. 

The new building would form the fourth side of a quadrangle on the Sherwood site, where a prefab building is currently located. This is expected to be removed in the coming weeks to make way for the creation of the building site.

The new building will also include a dedicated training centre; joint office space, a gym and a multi-purpose hall and canteen. Existing offices will be refurbished as part of the agreed plans.

The two services have been working closely together for some time and plans were submitted six months ago to the council and were heard on 4th December 2019, where they were recommended to be approved.

The planning committee agreed to the proposal, so long as a number of conditions are adhered to. These include the building being completed within three years and a new access road being put in place and plans to protect local wildlife and the environment.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping said: “This decision is positive news for both organisations as we can now move forward with this development that will deliver modern, more efficient head-quarters on a shared location for these two emergency services.

"It makes practical and operational sense and I’m confident that it will help to improve our blue light services and increase our impact on public safety in the future."

The police force head-quarters lies within Nottinghamshire’s greenbelt and is adjacent to a country park. As a consequence plans were prepared that were sympathetic to the location ensuring that they met the very special circumstances. Committee members agreed the proposal would provide significant benefits to the operation of the emergency services which in turn will provide significant benefits to the wider community in terms of improved public safety and operational efficiency.

One of the planning conditions is that bat and bird boxes will be installed at appropriate locations within the site. Electric vehicles charging points will also be installed on site. 

The cost of the total project is forecast to be around £18.5 million. 

It is anticipated the building should be completed towards the end of 2021.