Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Finance and General Purposes Committee

Item 3

24 October 2001

Copnor Fire Station and B Division Headquarters - Major Building Defects

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Contact:

David Howells, Director of Corporate Services

Tel: 023 8064 4000 Ext 203

1

Introduction and Background

1.1

At its last meeting (18 July 2001) the Committee was given an oral progress report on action being taken to resolve the problems associated with the major building defects at the Copnor Fire Station and B Division Headquarters, Portsmouth. For the benefit of new members, the background to the problem and context in relation to other key issues can be summarised under the following headings:

2

Review of fire cover

2.1

The Authority's long-term strategy is to rationalise the provision of fire cover in Portsmouth which is currently served by three shift-crewed fire stations at Cosham, Copnor and Southsea.

2.2

Originally it was proposed that this could be achieved by closing the existing Cosham and Copnor Fire Stations and replacing them with a single new fire station in the Portsbridge area. In the course of the review, it has since been determined that excellent standards of fire cover can be maintained by relocating the Copnor Fire Station resources (vehicles and personnel) to the existing Southsea Fire Station. This means that the rationalisation of existing fire cover in the area is not wholly dependent on the provision of a new fire station.

2.3

The need remains to eventually replace the existing Cosham Fire Station with a new building because the existing station site can no longer meet modern training needs and expectations. This can, however, be deferred until such time that the scheme can be accommodated in the capital programme.

2.4

Public consultation on proposals for the rationalisation of fire cover will take place in November and the outcomes and recommendations for changes will be presented to the Authority at its meeting on 5 December 2001.

3

Copnor Building - Structural Defects

3.1

The building at Copnor accommodates both the Fire Station and B Division Headquarters. During 1999/2000 it was discovered that the building had severe structural defects. Essentially these relate to the ongoing deterioration to concrete lintels, sills, and side closures to the windows and also to the concrete decorative `fins' in some areas.

3.2

Scaffolding and netting have had to be erected around most of the façade that fronts the public highway to provide protection from the risk of falling masonry. The use of scaffolding for this purpose is subject to licence and, understandably, Portsmouth City Council will be reluctant to renew consent in the absence of a firm strategy/plan to resolve the structural defects. The scaffolding has been in place for some 16 months so there is an urgent need to determine a way forward.

3.3

The estimated cost of carrying out remedial structural works by a specialist contractor has been put at £250,000. The Authority's property services adviser has recommended that in order to carry out this work it would be necessary for all staff to be temporarily relocated for up to 3 months. This would incur significant additional costs. The Service has been further advised that there is also a need to replace all major electrical and mechanical services in the building; and, that it would make sense to carry out this work (together with any other refurbishment) at the same time as the structural repairs.

3.4

The Authority's property services adviser previously recommended that the building be taken out of use, or structural repairs be undertaken, before the onset of winter 2001. Should the building still be in use at that time it is strongly recommended that a re-inspection of the building be urgently undertaken by structural engineers; this may highlight the need for further temporary repairs to propping measures to reduce the risk to building users and members of the public. This work is in addition to retaining the existing protective scaffolding which is subject to the need for further permits from the Local Authority as identified in paragraph 3.2.

3.5

It is considered that it would only be worth undertaking this scale of work if there is a firm need to retain the building to meet the Authority's long-term functional needs. In the context of the future rationalisation of fire cover in Portsmouth, (see paragraphs 2.1 to 2.4, above) it is clear that there is no such long-term need. Given that the fire station resources can be relocated to Southsea Fire Station, the major issue that remains to be addressed is the need to provide office and other related accommodation for the B Division Headquarters. Over the last few months, a number of possible solutions have been considered and these have included:

3.5.1

Purchasing suitable office accommodation in the B Division area capable of meeting current and long-term needs (and also taking the opportunity to rationalise accommodation for divisional fire safety personnel who are currently located at three different locations). The only suitable properties so far identified are in the price range £1.2m to £1.4m which is beyond what the Authority could reasonably afford and pursue within current capital borrowing approvals. (Note: this takes into account the offsetting value of any capital receipt from the eventual disposal of the Copnor site).

3.5.2

Renting suitable accommodation in the B Division area. A range of potentially suitable properties has been inspected in conjunction with the Authority's estates adviser. Several had to be rejected on grounds that car parking could not be provided - an essential requirement for officers providing fire cover. Others had to be rejected because they were not considered capable of providing accommodation to meet operational equipment storage needs. The price range varied from £63,000 to £125,000 per annum including service charges. This would add to the Authority's other revenue budget pressures. The Treasurer's view is that incurring annual rental costs of this order is not in the Authority's best long-term financial interests and would favour purchase rather than rental.

3.5.3

Refurbish just part of the existing Copnor building to provide a base for the Divisional Headquarters (but still relocate the fire station resources to Southsea). This could entail demolishing part of the building and using the building/site to `bring under one roof' divisional fire safety staff based in other locations (i.e. at Fareham and Southsea). The Authority's property services adviser cautions against this proposal and considers that it would not provide a cost-effective long-term solution. The Committee has also resolved (at it meeting on 18 July 2001) that, "... other than for safety reasons, nothing further be spent on the [building] unless approved by the Chief Fire Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of this Committee."

4

Future Organisational and Management Structure Considerations

4.1

The difficulties experienced in trying to find a cost-effective solution to the problem prompted the officers to consider the wider organisational and management structure needs of the Service. Given the significant financial implications likely to be involved in resolving the problems it is essential that any investment contributes to a long-term strategy in this respect.

4.2

At present, a hybrid organisational arrangement exists whereby the Service is managed along functional lines at the headquarters level, but this is superimposed on a divisional structure based on geographic areas. Although this has worked reasonably well over the last four years, it is recognised that there some inherent inefficiencies and there is scope to further rationalise the structure along fully functional lines. It now seems appropriate to move away from the existing divisional structure.

4.3

It is still intended to provide local work bases at existing Service locations around the county where this makes sense, e.g. for fire safety inspecting officers who have frequent contact with local district and unitary authorities. Discussions on this proposal are at a very early stage and full consultation now needs to take place with staff and their trades unions representatives on the details of a revised organisational and management structure. The Authority will be kept fully informed of progress.

4.4

It is essential that any resolution of the Copnor building problem should contribute to - or at least not inhibit - the longer-term proposals for the organisational and management structure.

5

Proposed Action

5.1

Given the urgent need to make progress in dealing with the structural problems at Copnor, the Committee is requested to authorise the Chief Fire Officer to:

5.1.1

Make arrangements for the temporary relocation of the Copnor Fire Station (vehicles and personnel) to Southsea Fire Station (note: permanent relocation is dependent on the outcome of public consultation on proposals for the rationalisation of fire cover in Portsmouth and subsequently on obtaining approval from the Secretary of State for the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions).

5.1.2

Make arrangements for the relocation of staff currently based at the B Division Headquarters, Copnor, to temporary accommodation preferably at Southsea Fire Station; the Service Headquarters site, Eastleigh; and, if appropriate, at Fareham Fire Station. This will require the provision of temporary buildings on the sites.

5.2

Providing permanent accommodation at these locations should also provide a longer-term solution. The estimated cost of these temporary arrangements will be reported to the Authority at future meetings together with outline proposals for the longer-term development of the Headquarters site. This will include an analysis of both capital and revenue budget implications (eg demolition, adaptation, temporary building hire costs, furniture and fittings, staff relocation costs). A full project appraisal is unlikely to be presented before May 2002.

5.3

At the last meeting of the Committee it was resolved that the Chief Fire Officer investigate the merits or otherwise of seeking outline planning permission for the sale of the existing Copnor Fire Station site. Discussions with the Authority's estates adviser have taken place and it has been concluded that, given the site is earmarked for residential development in the draft local plan, there is little to be gained from obtaining formal planning permission. It is likely that it would be in the Authority's best financial interests if the building was demolished, the site cleared, and put on the open market inviting offers on the basis of likely planning authority support for residential development (ie in accordance with the draft local plan).

6

European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

6.1

The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Recommendations

1

That in view of the urgent need to resolve issues associated with the major building defects at the Copnor Fire Station, the Chief Fire Officer be authorised to commit capital expenditure to a value not exceeding £100,000 to provide temporary accommodation for displaced staff at other Service sites.

2

That the detailed cost of resolving the Copnor building problems and wider accommodation needs for long-term organisational development of the Service, be presented to the Authority at its meeting in May 2002.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report.

None

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act

Dir-fin HFRA FGP 24 10 01 B Division (16/10/01)