WIREDGOV

Health Minister Mark Drakeford has officially marked the start of construction on the new £15 million joint Ambulance and Fire Services Resource Centre for Wrexham today.

He attended the turf cutting ceremony to herald the start of work on the new Ambulance and Fire Services Resource Centre (AFSRC). It is costing a total of £15 million, with the Welsh Government providing £8 million of capital funding towards the project.

Once completed the centre will provide better facilities for staff and improved services for the public in the Wrexham and surrounding area. It is the first centre of its kind to be purpose built and part funded by the Welsh Government. It will replace the existing fire station at Bradley Road in Wrexham, and the existing ambulance stations in Chirk and Wrexham.

Wrexham Council has approved planning permission for the centre, which will be built near Wrexham Maelor Hospital, in Croesnewydd Road.

The new centre will include:

• A local community safety office.
• An eight-bay fire station.
• A six-bay ambulance station.
• A state-of-the-art training house and drill tower with a road traffic collision training area.
• Ambulance accommodation, including a fleet workshop, offices and deployment base for response staff.
• Facilities for staff, including a rest room, dining rooms, main office, lockers, meeting and training rooms, which will be shared by both services.

Professor Drakeford said:

“The Welsh Government is making a significant investment in this new resource centre to provide both the ambulance and fire services with the most modern facilities available. It will allow greater coordination when it comes to responding to incidents and improve response times.

“The fire and ambulance services carry out vital work that saves lives. This project is about them working even closer together to so they become even more efficient and effective.”

Elwyn Price-Morris, Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said:

“A lot of hard work and preparation has gone into this project from the partnership, so we’re overjoyed that the construction phase has finally begun.

“This development will provide modern, improved and upgraded services, and make the best use of resources for both organisations. Along with this is, of course, the added bonus of being co-located with emergency service colleagues with whom we already have a close working relationship and attend many incidents together.”

Chief Fire Officer Simon Smith said:

“This partnership presents the opportunity to create a joint facility we can be proud of, in the same way that the Joint Communications Centre with North Wales Police in St Asaph has provided an innovative approach to joint emergency services working that places North Wales at the forefront of 999 operations. The project will deliver both improved facilities for our staff and a better service for the public in the area.