CONSTRUCTION of four new community fire stations in County Durham is one step closer following outline planning approval from Durham County Council.

The last piece of the jigsaw was complete when the secretary of state confirmed the go-ahead for the fourth site in the scheme, in Crook.

Working with County Durham and Darlington Fire & Rescue Authority, a specialist town planning team from property advisors, Sanderson Weatherall LLP, indentified sites in Stanhope, Crook, Barnard Castle and Sedgefield and secured outline planning for the four PFI (private finance initiatives) schemes. Approval for outline planning permission was sought as part of the build-up to PFI with the station replacements planned as part of the fire authority’s estates strategy.

The new premises will provide improved community safety facilities for effective engagement with the communities in County Durham and Darlington, as well as modern working and training facilities for staff.

The fire stations will each be used to house two standard firefighting appliances.

The community rooms, which are included in the buildings, will acc o m m o d a t e groups of around 20 to 30 people and will be used to continue and enhance the promotion of fire-safety messages, as well as being available for community use by groups for meetings, seminars and training programmes.

Head of planning at Sanderson Weatherall, Sean Hedley, said: “Our planning team has worked closely to ensure that the rigorous requirements laid down by the planning authority at the outline planning stage have been met.

“The sites identified for the new fire stations are all in excellent locations from an operational perspective.

They include the redevelopment of existing stations and new locations which will help to further improve response times and the level of fire cover in the local area.”

The new facilities are being developed as part of a multi-million pound major programme by the authority to improve its fire and community services.

The fire authority’s head of projects (estates), Simon Garnett- Spence, said: “The new fire station at Crook will be a much-needed replacement for our existing facility and we hope it will become an integral and important part of the local community.

“We are focused on making people and places safer.

The retained duty system fire and rescue crews live and work in and around the station in Crook.

“We are exceptionally pleased that planning has been approved for the four sites within the scheme, a task made easier by the dedicated team at Sanderson Weatherall.

“We are now looking to move the station replacement forward as part of the collaborative PFI project.”

Construction work is expected to start in 2012 once detailed plans have been approved and following the procurement of the PFI project.

Over the next few months, plans will be produced where incorporation of sustainable building features will figure high on the agenda.

Once complete, the new sites will achieve a minimum post construction BREEAM rating of ‘very good’.