News Release 2005/0205:
11 October 2005

The South East Fire and Rescue control centre, which will help deliver the best possible service to the public will be based at Fareham in Hampshire, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced today.

The control centre on Kite’s Croft Business Park will be part of a new national network of control centres, as part of the Government’s major investment in modernising the Fire and Rescue Service to equip it for the demands of the 21st century. Nine control centres will replace the existing 46 local fire service control rooms across the country.

Today’s announcement was made by ODPM Minister, who has responsibility for Fire. He said:

"There is a compelling need to modernise and rationalise the control rooms in England, as part of the overall modernisation agenda. In the post-9/11 world, and in the wake of the events of 7th July, we need control centres that are resilient enough to deal with a terrorist attack or deal with any natural disaster. London’s experience on the 7th July showed that only a regional control centre can deal effectively with an event of that scale particularly in terms of the specialist management required for inter-agency liaison and on-going communications to synchronise plans and deployment when the Fire and Rescue service is not the prime service on the scene. While existing control rooms do a good job, they are not designed to deal in a co-ordinated way with major regional or national incidents – they need improvement and investment.

“Over the summer we announced the locations of seven of the new regional control centres which will provide a control network fit for the 21st century. Today’s announcement completes the blueprint for that network which will provide the Fire and Rescue Service with a modern, effective system that will better protect the public.

“The control centres will use the latest proven technology which will not only enable firefighters to respond more quickly to incidents but improve their safety by providing accurate information before they reach the scene. The network will deliver a service that is resilient and capable of responding to anything from a small house fire to a large scale national emergency. It will also be much more efficient, which will free up resources for other Fire and Rescue Service work, such as fire prevention.”

• Cambridge Research Park, Cambridge
• Belmont Business Park, Durham
• Lingley Mere Business Park, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire
• Willow Farm Business Park, Castle Donington, Leicestershire
• Paragon Business Village, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
• Wolverhampton Business Park, Wolverhampton
• Blackbrook Business Park, Taunton, Somerset

London already has a regional control centre which will be integrated into the national network in time for the Olympics in 2012.

The ODPM Ministe, himself a former firefighter, said:

“We recognise that establishing the new network will inevitably result in change for staff. We are working very closely with the national employers so that staff are treated well, and will continue to work hard to keep staff informed of developments as they happen.

"As it is for the Fire and Rescue Service, public safety is our priority. We will work with them and other stakeholders to take this important project forward. This is all about improving public safety and improving the Fire and Rescue Service."

Today's news was welcomed by the President of the Chief Fire Officers Association who said:

“CFOA has supported the FiReControl project from the outset, and this is a significant milestone. We are also delighted that ODPM is investing so much in the Fire and Rescue Service. Establishing this national network of nine centres will be a huge step in the modernisation of the Service. It will provide a better service for the public and will greatly improve resilience, particularly important in the light of recent events.”

West Sussex Chief Fire Officer who is the Project Director for the South East FiReControl project, said that he was pleased that the frustrating time of waiting for the announcement was now over. He added:

"The Government’s plan for the new control centre at Fareham should benefit the whole of the South East by setting an even higher benchmark for a public service already delivering excellent levels of operational response.
“This project is aimed at getting the right resources to incidents in the shortest possible time, improving resilience across the region to cope with large-scale emergencies, and promoting even closer working between neighbouring Fire & Rescue Services. We will continue to work with our stakeholders in the region to take this project forward."

The Development Director at Easter Group, said:

“Easter Group and Morley Fund Management are delighted that the ODPM have chosen to locate the South East Fire & Rescue Control Centre at Kite's Croft, Fareham. The decision to locate this important new facility here reflects the quality of the location and environment at Kite's Croft. The Regional Control Centre joins an impressive line up of occupiers at Kite's Croft who have located there to serve both local and regional markets. We are looking forward to working closely with the FiReControl Project team to procure this facility.”

Notes to Editors

1. Work on the new site will begin in 2006 and work is currently underway to procure the infrastructure that will provide the state-of-the-art technology for the national network. All nine regional control centres should be operational in 2009. The FiReControl project – the move to regional control centres – is the result of an independent review of fire and rescue control rooms, which concluded that current arrangements are costly and inefficient. The Government published this report in December 2003 and consulted widely on its recommendations. The project forms part of the National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service which sets the objectives the Government expects the service to achieve. Copies of the framework and the report are available on the ODPM website.

2. The new Fire and Rescue Control Centres will be the result of over a year of intensive research and planning. Every part of the buildings has been designed to meet fire control needs and to provide staff with a high quality, secure and attractive place to work. The buildings will fit in with their local surroundings and meet or exceed environmental standards. The new control centres will be at the forefront of architectural design, exceeding many current health and safety, disability access and fire safety requirements. Control staff from across the country, at all levels, have contributed to the design process by making it clear what is important to them. As a result, the centres will be places which support control staff in delivering an excellent service to the public.

3. Kite’s Croft Business Park at Fareham, Hampshire, is located a short distance from Junction 9 of the M27, near Southampton and Portsmouth. The site has good transport links by road via the M27, A3(M) and the M3 and is 10 miles from Southampton Airport and Parkway station.

4. A written statement giving the locations of all eight regional control centres was made to Parliament on 11th October at 0930.

5. An artist’s impression of the building and more information on the site are available from the FiReControl website at: www.firecontrol.odpm.gov.uk or by contacting the press office.

6. For more information from the South East Project Director please contact ring 01243 752401.

7. For more information from the developer please ring 0207 235 3050.