A POPULAR family greengrocer in Grange has been given the green light to expand its business into the building it currently lets to North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

R.A. and J.S. Fletcher and Sons, on Kents Bank Road, owns the adjacent unit to its current shop which has housed Grange Ambulance Station, rent-free for the last 20 years.

Fletchers gave notice to NWAS in August 2022 that it intended to take back the unit for its own use, giving NWAS until the end of their current lease (March 31), to find a new home in the town.

Failure to do this would leave Grange and the Cartmel Peninsula without a first-responder ambulance service, the next closest being Kendal.

Despite being given permission to extend its shop, Fletchers has agreed to extend the rent-free lease for NWAS until August, a gesture that South Lakeland District Councillor for Grange Fiona Hanlon welcomed.

She said: "Fletchers have extended the NWAS lease temporarily, which will mean (the new) Westmorland and Furness Council are able to organise asset transfers etc, while the ambulance stays in Grange until that happens.

"Well done Fletchers."

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The Planning Statement submitted by Fletchers said: "The current shop layout is too small, lacking in storage space and labour intensive for staff.

"The extension is crucial for the business to continue operating in its current location."

The search for a new home for the ambulance station has been ongoing but the outgoing local authorities are unable to transfer public assets until April 1, when the hand-over to Westmorland and Furness Council takes place.

MP for Westmorland and Furness Tim Farron said that discussions are ongoing with Cumbria Fire and Rescue to house the ambulance in Grange Fire Station.

He said: "They will have to leave that space eventually. 

"I've had a meeting with representatives from both sides, and we are due to have a follow-up in early January to see how things are progressing.

"The fire station would make sense, but realistically the needs of NWAS are not great - they need a power supply, a dry space to store the ambulance, and room for the staff."