MP dubs fire station a wart on landscape
Proposals for new fire stations in two Staffordshire villages will be debated by councillors tonight with an MP calling one of them a "wart on the landscape".
Plans for stations in Codsall and Kinver will be discussed.
Gavin Williamson said the designs for the new Codsall fire station look like they belong in "inner city Stoke-on-Trent." Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is proposing to spend £50 million to rebuild 11 fire stations – including Codsall, Kinver, Stone, Rugeley, Penkridge, Chase Terrace, and Lichfield stations.
The four others are from the north of the county.
The Codsall and Kinver ones are coming before councillors in South Staffordshire tonight.
The fire service is aiming to make all 11 look the same with a red and grey design.
But Tory MP Mr Williamson said of the Codsall station in Duck Lane: "The design is grotesque. It is a wart on the landscape.
"It may work in inner city Stoke-on-Trent but not in rural South Staffordshire.
"There's no consideration at all for the neighbouring properties."
The station for Codsall would cost around £3m and would be used by retained firefighters. It includes 14 parking spaces and a new training tower.
Both the Codsall and Kinver stations are part of a private finance initiative deal with Blue3, a consortium led by Kier construction group.
Outline plans to replace it were approved in 2009 and tonight's meeting is set to see permission granted as long as it is built within three years.
Councillors have also been recommended to approve the Codsall plans even though planning officers acknowledge that it will have a "detrimental impact on nearby properties".
A report to the council's regulatory committee states that the concerns do "not outweigh the benefit."
