Leamington Spa Fire Station

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service (WFRS) commissioned the refurbishment of their existing building in the centre of Leamington Spa. This building has been open for more than 50 years and functions as their regional headquarters, as well as being one of three fire stations that protect the county.

Morgan Sindall were appointed to carry out a projected £2.8 million refurbishment and improvement project by Warwickshire County Council (WCC), through the East Midlands Property Alliance framework.

CGJ were approached by Morgan Sindall in the summer of 2016 to undertake a detailed survey of the existing building, including a visual check of the condition and capacity of the existing M&E services for future extension, including plant, panels, boards and equipment, plus load testing of the existing electricity supplies, and the preparation of calculations to prove the capability of the existing gas and water supplies to accommodate the proposed refurbishment works.

CGJ spent several days on site, making notes and taking photographs to prepare a 68 page report, describing the condition of the existing systems, with calculations and photographic schedules of key items of plant and systems. The report also included drawings indicating plant locations, routes of key services through the building, and suggestions for maintenance and improvements to the existing systems.

Following the report, CGJ were tasked with providing the design and installation of M&E services to the “Enabling Works” stage of the project, which involved the conversion of the existing redundant oil tank room below ground into a workshop area, and the conversion of an existing garage to a Gym. This allowed the existing Gym facility to be relocated, refurbished & converted into a kitchen / diner for the new Day Crew Plus team, who will work 24-hour shifts,divided into 12 active duty and 12 hours on stand-by, staying at the fire station during this time.

The enabling works were completed in Winter 2016 / 2017.

The remaining phases of the works included the renovation and modification of the existing Reception, Watch Office & Muster Areas, which was modified to contain a new IT Server Room. The new kitchen / diner for the new Day Crew Plus team, was augmented with new living facilities, designed to be family-friendly and provide firefighters with a comfortable environment for extended stays atthe station.

New overnight accommodation was provided for the Seven-Day Crew, who will work a more standard 12-hour pattern, returning home at the end of the shift, and have been allotted a separate annexe, complete with its own front door, to allow visitors to access the building without walking through the main station. A Seven Day Crew meeting room / training room was provided, together with an upgrade of the laundry and catering facilities.

These remodelling & refurbishment works were completed in Summer 2017.