New ambulance station planned for Newport
Newport could be getting a brand new ambulance station after a planning application was submitted for a new base at the town's Cottage Care Centre.
The ambulance service has, for the last four years, used the town’s fire station as a response post, but, if approved, the move to the Cottage Care Centre would be permanent.
The proposal involves a portable cabin on its grounds, incorporating a restroom and facilities for ambulance service staff, with parking for emergency vehicles.
Robert Marsh, Assistant Area Manager for West Midlands Ambulance Service in Shropshire, said: "We can't stay at the fire station any longer without making some major alterations. A move to the Newport Cottage Care Centre will be more cost effective and allows us to work within a health setting. If planning permission is granted, I am looking forward to having a long, successful and fruitful relationship with everyone at the centre. They have all been very accommodating and approachable."
John Airth, Trust Chairman at the Cottage Care Centre, said: "The trustees would be delighted if this application was passed so that we can have an ambulance in the town when it is needed most. We were approached by the ambulance service to see if we could come to some arrangement that would allow them to have a base here covering the Newport area. The last thing we'd want is the base to be in somewhere like Donnington which meant the ambulance had to travel 10 minutes to get here. The public in Newport do so much for the Cottage Care Centre and this is our way of giving something back.”
Chris Kowalik, spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Our stay at Newport Fire Station was only meant to be temporary and the building isn’t suitable for our long term needs. Our move to the Cottage Care Centre would bring a brand new ambulance station to the town that is more centrally located which will help improve response times. We are obliged to provide an agreed standard of accommodation for our staff for the future. We would be able to do that on the grounds of the Cottage Care Centre more cheaply than through any rebuilding work of the fire station. Any money we would have spent on building work will go on further improving the frontline ambulance service instead.”
The planned move within Newport is part of West Midlands Ambulance Service’s ‘Make Ready’ Project. The project involves the creation of two round-the-clock vehicle preparation and maintenance hubs, to be based at Donnington ambulance station (which is being refurbished) and at a new site to be established in Shrewsbury.
Other traditional ambulance stations in Shropshire that are owned by West Midlands Ambulance Service will be sold and replaced by a greater number of Community Ambulance Stations such as that planned for Newport. The number of Community Ambulance stations in Shropshire will be approx. double that of traditionally owned stations.
