Building work has commenced on the new training facility and fire station in Huntingdon.

The ground was broken on the multi-million pound project, which involves building a modern, purpose-built training centre and new community fire station at St John’s Park, north of Huntingdon.

To officially commence the build, Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland was joined by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority chairman, Cllr Edna Murphy, along with key colleagues involved with the project from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and contractors Artisan.

Mr Strickland said: “This is a very important and exciting milestone for this project. It signals that our staff will soon be benefitting from a top notch, state-of-the-art training facility where they can hone and develop their skills and techniques. Also, the staff at Huntingdon Fire Station will have a new modern station to base themselves and respond from.

The Hunts Post: A artists impression of what the Fire Station will look like when it is complete.A artists impression of what the Fire Station will look like when it is complete. (Image: Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue)

“We’ve been looking to improve the training facilities that we offer to staff for a number of years, as the current provision is not to the standard we want. Much of our training currently takes place out of the county, adding extra time and expense. This new facility will ensure we can offer our staff the best possible training without having to travel miles for it.”

Councillor Murphy said: “Seeing the building work commence on this project is fantastic. We have been seeking to improve our operational training for many years and it’s fantastic to see work begin on this development.”

The training facility will offer effective, reliable and realistic training for all operational staff, as well as giving much needed capacity to enable the Service to train more firefighters more often than the current site allows.

The new fire station will replace the current station on Hartford Road, providing a significant upgrade for the wholetime and on-call operational staff, as well as support staff from Occupational Health, Health and Safety and Operational Support Group.

The building work is anticipated to take around a year to complete, with the station hopefully being occupied by staff by early 2023. The budget for the project is just over £10.5 million.