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New West Yorkshire fire station and HQ approved

LDRS Bradford road fire service training centre and OH siteLDRS
A training centre and occupational health buildings will be demolished to make way for the new complex on Bradford Road

Plans to build a new fire station and headquarters for West Yorkshire's fire service have been approved.

Cleckheaton fire station will close with a replacement built as part of a new HQ in Birkenshaw, officials said.

The training centre on Bradford Road will be pulled down to allow the new three-storey complex to be built, Kirklees Council was told.

The Birkenshaw and Cleckheaton sites will be consolidated into a "fit-for-purpose building," a report added.

The building will also be more "operationally and energy efficient," it said.

Betty Longbottom/Geograph Cleckheaton fire stationBetty Longbottom/Geograph
Cleckheaton fire station was built in 1952 and is outdated, the fire service says

In 2020, West Yorkshire Fire Authority decided to close the existing Cleckheaton station on Hightown Road as part of an ongoing 10-year programme of reconfiguration. 

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, fire chiefs said that the move could save £2m.

Critics described it as "a poor decision" and expressed concern the relocation could impact response times.

A report considered by the council's Strategic Planning Committee on Thursday had recommended the scheme for approval.

The plans were passed unanimously.

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