Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire &
Rescue Service have
announced plans proposals for
a new shared headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, Arnold.
At a meeting held last Friday (28 Sept), attended by the
Police and Crime Commissioner , the Fire Authority gave the
go-ahead for the development of detailed designs and costings for
a new joint Headquarters on the site of the current Police HQ at
Sherwood Lodge.
Last year it was agreed that the three emergency services -
Police, Fire & Rescue and Ambulance - would review their
estate within the County to identify sites suitable for
colocation, alongside opportunities to realise the investment in
under-utilised buildings.
Since then several successful colocation agreements have
seen two or three services working from one building for both
financial and operational efficiency. The review also highlighted
the potential for a shared Fire and Police Headquarters as part
of the drive to increase efficiency, effectiveness and public
safety between the two
services.
A number of options have been explored and a full, detailed
proposal for a shared HQ at Sherwood Lodge will now be submitted
to next February's (2019) meeting of the Fire Authority.
Police and Crime Commissioner , who holds responsibility for
the police estate, welcomed the news, saying that this was
highly-logical ‘blue-light' collaboration.
He added: "This is what partnership working is all
about. If these plans go ahead it will bring benefits for
the staff, the two organisations and ultimately the
taxpayers. This will see both services working together in
a modern, efficient, building that is fit for the foreseeable
future."
CC Craig Guildford said: "I am really pleased that we have
progressed far enough to get an agreement in principle for
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to come and join us at
Force HQ, in a shared headquarters. This is most efficient and
effective way of us working together and is the start of steps
moving towards further collaboration with them.
"There will be a host of benefits from this partnership,
not only saving money that can be invested back into frontline
services but working closer together when tackling issues of
community safety. We have already held training at some of the
existing fire buildings and we are continuing to look at ways we
can work closer more efficiently across Nottinghamshire to better
serve the public."
The Chair of the Fire Authority, Councillor Brian Grocock
said: "Collaboration is a key objective for the Authority, both
in terms of what it represents to the communities we serve and
for ensuring that we strengthen the way we work with our
blue-light partners. The prospect of a shared HQ with
Nottinghamshire Police demonstrates our commitment to this
priority and the next few months will be critical in ensuring the
proposals meet the expectations of both services, as well as
demonstrating the positive benefits for our communities."
If agreed, taking all factors into consideration, the
option to add to the current and planned capacity at Sherwood
Lodge is believed to be the most practical, achievable and
affordable shared HQ option available to meet future
needs.
It would support a more effective exchange of information
relating to community safety, which will ultimately benefit the
communities that both organisations serve.
If the full proposal is approved, it is envisaged that the
implementation programme would take between two to five years to
complete.
