POLICE\u00a0and fire services in a South Yorkshire town will operate jointly under one roof as part of a bid to cut costs.<\/p>\n
A joint police and fire station has been approved by Rotherham Council this month and work will start on the new modified police station in Maltby during the New Year.<\/p>\n
Maltby fire station is to close and the Byford Road police station modified for fire vehicles and staff under the plans.<\/p>\n
The project has received \u00a3560,000 of Government Transformation Funding to help save both South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue money, by sharing building running costs and enabling funding to be targeted directly at frontline services.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles, Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “I can see some benefits of cost sharing of premises. I can see some downside as well about the difference in conditions and services of people sharing the same building.”<\/p>\n
Beverley Sandy, of South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said: “This move makes perfect sense for us, for the police and for the taxpayer.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of having two public buildings, and all the running costs associated with them, we will be able to combine our resources into one facility to provide a more efficient frontline service.\u201d<\/p>\n
The combined resources would help to provide a more efficient service, she added.<\/p>\n
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, welcomed the move.<\/p>\n
The South Yorkshire Fire Authority has said a proposal to merge services with West Yorkshire could be “the best option” to cope with reduced budgets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are constantly looking for ways in which to work in collaboration with partners and implement efficiency savings. I welcome this move to bring both emergency services together to serve the community of Maltby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Billings responded to the recent Chancellor\u2019s spending review saying he was pleased there would not be \u2018draconian\u2019 funding cuts but the force would still face a shortfall of \u00a37m to account for salaries and other costs.<\/p>\n
The move will mean fire services are closer to the east side of Rotherham which usually has a larger volume of incidents.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, added: \u201cIt will also improve services by making it easier for police and firefighters to share knowledge, skills and expertise when tackling common issues, like anti-social behaviour and road traffic collisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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