New Lease Of Life For East Cowes Fire Station Site

Plans to bring fire crews back to East Cowes are taking a step forward with proposals for the site being drawn up and the old building set to be demolished.

The Fire and Rescue Authority has agreed capital funding to support not only putting a new building on the site for East Cowes on-call firefighters to respond from, but also to offer improved fleet maintenance facilities for the island’s fire vehicles.

The HIWFRS Island Fleet and Equipment Maintenance Centre is currently based in Newport and needs an upgrade.

A new purpose-built facility at East Cowes would offer a much-improved standard of facilities that would enable the Service’s modern vehicles to be suitably maintained.

It will also accommodate clean and dirty zones and space for additional decontaminated equipment to help improve the safety of crews.

Following the Fire Authority approval the Service is now working up the plans for the site and is in conversations with the local authority with the aim of submitting a planning application by early next year.

Demolition will be starting on the East Cowes site on 30 September.

The safety of the community is our priority, and the current condition of the building means that demolishing it now is the best course of action.

Taking the building down will also be a helpful step towards making the site ready for its future redevelopment.

Isle of Wight Fire Authority Member, Cllr Karen Lucioni, said:

“The decision of the fire authority is a clear commitment to the people of East Cowes.

"This investment will not only see the return of operational fire crews to the town but will also make best use of the site with the addition of much-needed vehicle maintenance facilities.

"Over the last two years, four brand new light fleet vehicles and two brand new fire appliances have been allocated to the Island and we need to ensure we have the capability to service and repair these and our other vehicles."

The East Cowes site was temporarily taken out of operation in May 2024 due to health and safety risks associated with the building.

To maintain cover the on-call crew has been travelling to Newport Fire Station to collect their fire engine and attend incidents.

Best efforts continue to be made by the Service, to relocate the fire engine to a temporary site in East Cowes while planning and construction processes take place.

Jeff Walls Group Manager for the Isle of Wight said:

“I am pleased that we are on the road to being able to welcome back our on-call crew to an operational base in East Cowes.

"Our on-call firefighters are people whose sense of community has led them to serve and help protect people in their town and across the Island and we truly value the time they give and the contribution they make to keep people safe.”

On-call (retained) firefighter - Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service, Official website of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service (hantsfire.gov.uk)