Commissioner Zoë invests £1.2m to refurbish Ripon’s fire and police station and create a police base in the city centre.

Approval to move ahead with the redevelopment and for space to be made available for the local policing team in the City centre’s Town Hall was signed off by Commissioner Zoë on Tuesday 31 January at her Executive Board meeting.

Originally plans were made for a new building on the site, however issues with the ground conditions and escalating building costs mean that this is no longer an option.

Commissioner Zoë said:

“The facilities in Ripon are out of date and not suitable for our modern and inclusive work force.

“This redevelopment is long overdue. As Commissioner, I have listened to the community and staff, and want to create a safe environment for the fire and police services to work from and is fit for the future.

“I am also delighted that part of this investment enables us to put our local policing team right into the heart of the city in the Town Hall, being accessible and visible, helping people to be safe and feel safe and contributing towards economic growth.”

Jonathan Dyson, Chief Fire Officer, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“We welcome the Commissioner supporting the significant investment we’re making for the community and our staff through refurbishing the joint facilities at Ripon station.

“The changes will benefit our people and provide facilities that are much more appropriate for their welfare and safer working.”

Ed Rogerson, Ripon’s Neighbourhood Policing Inspector said:

“The planned facilities will be ideal for meeting with members of the public and partner agencies so my team and I are really looking forward to having this base in the City Centre.

“The Town Hall is in a great central location, right in the heart of the community, so we’ll be much more visible and accessible to the public.”

Refurbishment on the fire and police station started in February and is expected to be completed by mid-December and cost £1,090,353.

The major refurbishment will change the way in which the building can be used  and will include:

• Remodelling of all the welfare and locker facilities. A new locker room is being created on the ground floor. A new muster bay for storage of fire and rescue Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will provide a more suitable space for putting on PPE pre-emergency and will also address the current issue of PPE being stored in what is an access corridor.
• Re-purposing the ground floor to create a secure space for police to interact with the public.
• Re-shaping the first floor to create effective working and meeting spaces for fire and rescue.
• The development of a number of shared spaces (meeting spaces, locker room, showers, kitchen and break out area to improve staff welfare.
• Improved access control to the building.
• Additional improvements including windows, decoration and lighting.
• Demolition of redundant buildings to create additional hardstanding areas for parking and space for operational vehicles.

Refurbishment in Ripon Town Hall also started in February and is expected to be completed by June and cost £91,283.

The new town centre location for use by police will include a public consultation room, a large office and a break out room with tea point.

There will be slight disruption during these building works but work will be phased to eliminate any disruption to the fire and police services’ ability to operate normally.