A NEW hub which will house “blue light” emergency services will also provide an accommodation block for firefighters and their families during night shifts.

READ MORE: Controversy surrounded the original plans

READ MORE: Background to the blue light hub

The blue light hub in Ulverston, which was approved on Wednesday by Cumbria County Council’s development control and regulation committee, will be built on land adjacent to the A590, opposite the junction with Daltongate.

It will house Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service, while providing extra facilities for Cumbria police and meeting rooms for the community.

Along with the main hub there will also be two ancillary buildings. One will be an accommodation block for on-call fire service staff and the other will be a fire house and tower training facility.

The main building will provide three bays for two fire appliances and an ambulance as well as a covered canopy area for additional North-West Ambulance Service vehicles, including their rapid response units.

It will also have a reception area, office space, meeting rooms, equipment and kit storage, a police ICT room, dining and kitchen spaces, change and shower areas and laundry and drying facilities.

The report which went before councillors explained that the blue light hub will replace Ulverston’s existing fire station at The Ellers as “it is nearing the end of its serviceable life”.

It goes on to say that the existing fire station site is considered to be “small and constrained” and the “busy, narrow and heavily parked-up residential streets nearby make it difficult” for the fire engines to leave quickly.

The accommodation block which will house operational fire-service crews who will undertake standby duties during the evening and night will have five self-contained flats.

These will provide accommodation for five fire service personnel and their families.

The report said: “This is in line with the fire and rescue service’s plan to introduce a revised duty rota system that reduces the number of firefighters required without reducing emergency cover.”

The revised duty rota system has yet to be approved by the Fire Brigade Union and so is not yet in place.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said: “We remain in dialogue with the unions about implementation of a new duty system.

“As was prudent, provision for an accommodation block was included in our recent planning application to ensure the option is available to the service.”

The blue light hub will also replace Ulverston’s ambulance station in Victoria Road.

A small police presence remains in Ulverston in rented accommodation after the police station closed but these officers will also be transferred to the blue light hub.