Birkenhead Community Fire Station Design and access statement

Birkenhead Community Fire Station
Design and access statement
May 2010
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Contents
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 Site analysis 4
4.0 Planning and consultations 12
5.0 Design proposals – buildings 13
6.0 Design proposals – site layout 15
7.0 Design proposals – The whole 17
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1.0 Introduction
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue is seeking planning permission for the
redevelopment of the current Birkenhead Fire Station to construct a new
community fire station on the application site.
Background
As part of a major programme to provide improved fire and rescue services
to the Birkenhead community, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) has
identified the need for an improved community fire station in Birkenhead.
This need was identified by an assessment of areas of risk in the
community, as detailed in the MFRS Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP).
Continuing to provide the service from this location will enable MFRS to
remain central to the community it serves, helping the Service achieve the
response standards detailed in the IRMP.
It is proposed to redevelop the site to provide a new community fire
station to replace the existing fire station.
The current station is unsuitable for use as a community fire station.
Accessibility is poor, the appliance bays are inefficient and there is not
enough space for community-related activities including training. A
traditional brick building constructed in 1974, the station is approaching
the end of its economic lifespan.
The new facilities at Birkenhead will be used to house two firefighting
appliances and their crews and one reserve firefighting appliance.
The community fire station will also be used as a base for promoting fire
safety. Two dedicated rooms have been provided with the benefit of movable
walls that open the space to allow larger gatherings. The community room
will accommodate groups of around 40 people and the lecture/multifunctional
room will accommodate around 20 people. The rooms will be used
to continue and enhance the promotion of fire safety messages as well as
being available for use by community groups for meetings, seminars and
training programmes.
Application details
In the course of designing Birkenhead Community Fire Station we have
prepared a wide range of reports relating to areas such as landscaping,
design, ecology, trees, highways, sustainability and BREEAM accreditation.
This design and access statement serves to summarise the main conclusions
from these reports.
In brief, the application for the redevelopment of Birkenhead Fire Station
comprises:
• The demolition of all existing buildings on the existing fire
station site
• A new building to replace the demolished facilities, providing a new
enhanced community fire station
• Total area for the new fire station of 1135m 2 gross internal floor
area (GIFA) over two floors
• New car parking provision for 9 number visitor spaces including 3
number accessible spaces with a further 23 secure parking spaces
including 2 number accessible space for both operational and station
staff requirements, delivery drop-off/pick-up area and all
associated landscape works
• There are provisions for 10 secure covered staff cycle storage. Also
located at the community entrance are 8 cycle storage spaces for
visitors
• Additional facilities to support the new fire station, including a
training tower, fuel tank with adjoining generator, and a flag pole
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2.0 Site analysis
The site houses the existing Birkenhead Fire Station on Exmouth Street in
central Birkenhead. It is surrounded by residential, industrial and town
centre shopping areas.
The site area is approximately 7,140m².
The site is bounded on the east by Exmouth Street, to the south by Bright
Street, to the west by the ambulance station and Bentinck Street and to
the north by Exmouth Gardens and a public house.
The site contours indicate a reduction in level to the north.
The development plan for Birkenhead district does not apply any specific
policies to the site. Adjacent sites are categorised as primarily
industrial, primarily residential and, on the opposite side of Exmouth
Street, key town centre shopping.
During the dialogue period, and after discussions with the planning
department, we were given a clear steer that, because of the value of the
land and its contribution to a future master plan for redeveloping the
main route into Birkenhead, we should keep to the same area of land as the
outline approval was based on. We therefore followed the outline approval
access and egress routes that use the eastern elements of the site. Being
set back from the main nodal point at the junction of Exmouth Street, the
angled façade of the main community rooms and entrance provides the visual
links and civic presence required for a new community fire station.
In our designs we have taken care to respect the neighbouring community,
particularly the neighbours in the residential areas very close to the
rear of the new station. We have ensured that the noisy training yard
areas are located away from the residential boundaries. Our landscape
designs will also help make the boundaries appear softer and enhance the
outlook from neighbouring houses.
The existing facility dates from a time when firefighting was the key
priority for the Fire and Rescue Services with much less emphasis on
community engagement and the prevention agenda.
Following the review of the IRMP, the location of the Birkenhead Fire
Station remains appropriate for reducing the social, commercial and
economic consequences of emergency incidents.
During the dialogue period, and in discussions with the planning
department, we identified the need to address the fact that the area lacks
a building with prominence.
Before we began work on the design we carried out a comprehensive analysis
of the site. The results have helped inform our design proposals and the
key decisions we have made throughout the design process. The following
section details the main issues we identified from the analysis.
Views around the existing site across to the Lowry community building and
down to the public house
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Site analysis
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Historic context
The existing fire station replaced terraced housing which was developed to
support the growth of the shipbuilding industry in the early 19th century.
The site investigation work has confirmed the houses as potentially having
cellars. As can been seen from the historic map below, terraced housing
covered an extensive area in Birkenhead. To this end this site does not
appear to offer any unique opportunities for investigation, and there are
likely to be other remains elsewhere in a better state of preservation.
reduced down from the existing bay length to the length of the northern
element, which still can access the main junctions with ease.
During the ISRS dialogue, we have, in collaboration with Capita, developed
Section 278 proposals that will form part of the planning documentation.
The access and egress routes continue to provide safe and efficient access
for all the users of the new station: we have three separate entrances to
accommodate the community, staff/crew and response/return. We therefore
have three principal access/egress routes.
We have discussed our proposals with the local planning authority and our
discussions made particular reference to the proposed character and
aesthetics of the building. The local authority emphasised that there is a
need to make the building part of the urban fabric and a landmark in its
community. The Authority welcomed our approach and concept, as discussed
in the following sections.
Ecology
To determine whether there were any areas of ecological value or protected
species on the Birkenhead site (as per the Wildlife and Countryside Act
and UK/local biodiversity action plans), a desktop study and walkover
survey was undertaken in April 2009 by a suitably qualified ecologist.
The results of the survey determined what we needed to take into
consideration as part of the proposed design and construction activities
on-site.
Map of Birkenhead c. 1900 showing terraced housing on the site of the
current fire station (circled)
Planning and infrastructure issues (including pedestrian, cycle and road
access) and development or ecological zones
The site is in a central location and well served by local transport
links.
The existing routes in are via the ramped access to the north boundary off
Exmouth Street, with a second access to the rear off Bentinck Street
adjacent to the ambulance building. Due to the land surpluses the existing
access off Bentinck Street will not be accessible to the proposed new site
area. However, this was thought not to be an important route as it is
vulnerable to vandalism. The retention of the main route in off Exmouth
Street will be a safer option to serve a community fire and rescue
facility. The existing response route out into Exmouth Street will be
The new community fire station at Birkenhead is found to be of some local
ecological value due to the habitats present and the potential for bats to
be present.
The site currently comprises buildings, hardstanding concrete yard areas
in variable conditions, and undeveloped land which is unmanaged and
contains marshy grassland and ephemeral vegetation. The external
landscaping proposals demonstrate how the ecology and visual amenity of
the area will be improved through the use and positioning of native trees
and shrubs.
Relatively few birds were identified as part of the survey, and there is
relatively little opportunity for birds to nest or use the site. It was
also determined that the buildings on-site may provide some potential for
roosting bats, due to a number of crevices and features in the building
fabric. As surveys are seasonally constrained, further bat surveys were
undertaken during September 2009 to try and determine the presence or
absence of common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), Daubenton’s
(Myotis daubentonii), and brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus). An
internal/external bat assessment and emergence and dawn survey were
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undertaken and there was no evidence of bat roosts found during internal
inspections of the buildings on-site or of the trees at the site.
On the strength of the latest bat survey, the ecologist has confirmed that
a further survey will be required approximately four to six weeks prior to
any construction works being undertaken. This is necessary due to the time
differences between the original bat survey and the projected start onsite
date.
New habitats will be created including of groundcovers, shrubs and
hedging. The areas of vegetation have been increased through planting in
areas that are currently hardstanding. Native hedgerows with hedgerow
trees will create wildlife corridors. The wildflower meadow with gabion
basket retaining wall will add greatly to biodiversity.
The ecological value of the site and changes as a result of mitigation and
enhancement measures is being quantified as part of the BREEAM assessment.
A landscape and habitat management plan for the site is to be produced to
manage the new ecological features on-site in line with the Local
Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for the Merseyside region.
Topography
NWFRS have issued a topographical survey for the site. We have used this
in conjunction with numerous visits to the site to collate information on
the existing levels and inform our proposed design.
We have observed that the site falls in level to the north. The existing
facilities have a ramped approach to the north boundary to allow vehicles
to enter the higher drill yard plateau. This has created a lower area to
the rear of the site that will require land fill.
To reduce waste removal from site we have maintained the existing drill
yard levels, infilling a small section to ensure that the access to the
front entrances meets current DDA requirements. We have employed
landscaping to enhance the appearance of the changes in level down to the
residential areas, using planting and gabion walling in the
contemplation/community garden areas.
The area highlighted on the diagram shows the extend of landfill and
landscaping work to resolve level changes to the north corner of the site
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Existing site investigation
Car and cycle parking
There are two main areas for car parking within
the site boundary. There is limited visitor
parking via the ramp to the north of the apron.
This is poorly located for the main entrance,
as pedestrians have to enter via the drill area
or cross the expansive response apron to reach
the entrance door. Staff parking is within the
secure perimeter of the drill yard, and denoted
spaces are marked in this area. The car parking
requirement for the new facility has been
supplied by the Fire and Rescue Authority as
part of the Output Specification. It is deemed
to be the requirement that will allow the fire
station to operate effectively.
Points of access
There are two main points of access to the
site, as indicated in the diagram below and
described in the preceding section. One is via
the rear access road, off Bentinck Street. This
has been the scene of local vandalism and
antisocial behaviour. It is not used as often
as the second route off Exmouth Street, where
both staff and returning appliances manoeuvre
in both directions. The fire appliance egress
point is direct onto Exmouth Street. Wayfinding
around the perimeter of the site is relatively
simple, yet the main entrance appears rather
hidden as it is unmarked.
Pedestrian and vehicular movement
As the current fire station is next to a busy
junction, pedestrian and vehicular movement
around the site is relatively high. As noted
above, visitor parking is not convenient for
the visitor entrance, creating confusion and
potential conflict with the operational flows.
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Landscape and environment
The fire station is located in an urban
environment, with the new Louries building
across the road influencing the character of
the surroundings. We intend to complement this
key building, through both hard and soft
landscaping, adding to the surrounding street
scene. The existing fire stations is surrounded
by large areas of hard standing, with an area
of scrub grassland to the rear of the site
containing sparse vegetation of little merit.
Through our landscape proposals we aim to
improve this, introducing formal areas of
planting to the frontage to soften and
integrate the new building into its urban
setting. Areas of greenery will be introduced
throughout the new fire stations site which
will be generally formal in appearance. The
existing area of scrub grassland will replaced
by a wildflower meadow, with native woodland
planting combined with native hedgerows
creating urban wildlife links and refuges.
Views into and out of the site
The location is very prominent on the busy road
junction of Exmouth Street and Claughton Road,
on the outskirts of Birkenhead town centre. The
Fire station is prominent to travelers along
both these busy roads by car, cycle, and on
foot. The stations frontage can be seen on
these approaches, being most prominent on the
pelican and other crossings in the close
proximity of the station, and to visitors
arriving and departing from the shopping
precinct’s large car parks of Claughton Road.
Other outdoor spaces and operational space on
the site are hidden from view due to their
location behind the building complex, to the
rear of the station.
The station is located towards a high point of
the gently sloping Exmouth Street, with
neighboring residential properties to the north
lying lower. Here the adjacent street, Exmouth
Gardens, sits 1.5m below the location of the
station’s new car park and community garden
boundary. The Seamus O’Donnell’s public house
along the north-easterly boundary also sits on
the lower level and there are limited views
into the site from these locations. To protect
the privacy of the neighboring properties
hedging is proposed where possible, with a
proposed acoustic feature screen along the
existing boundary wall to the public house. A
north-westerly boundary to the Ambulance
Station will be created comprising paladin
railings and native hedgerow planting. This
will limit views into and out of the fire
station to Bentinck Street’s residential
properties.
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Noise levels
The noise of the traffic along Exmouth Street
is not significant. The station sits high on
the junction of Exmouth Street and Cloughton
Road, and the majority of traffic is on its way
to the shopping area of Birkenhead or out to
the motorway network. The site is being reduced
in size and moving away from the main junction,
and the main new block will run at 90 degrees
to Exmouth Street. This means that rest
accommodation/study rooms will be able to take
advantage of the north light.
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Observation summary of the existing site
Taking all the preceding information into
account, we can summarise the positive and
negative characteristics of the site as
follows:
Positives:
• Site allows scope for enhanced landscaping
• Prominent location at a gateway site into
the town
• Views and vistas towards the community of
Birkenhead
• Defined boundaries
• Adjacent to focus of Birkenhead’s vision
for urban improvements
• Fire station frontage dominated by the
multiple hard surfaces of the entrances
and egresses for vehicles
• Appliance access into the site is
relatively tight
• Minimal outdoor space suitable for social
activities
• No soft landscaping present with
unwelcoming spaces
Clearly the negatives far outweigh the
positives at the moment. In our design
proposals we aim to address the negative
aspects and accentuate the positive attributes
of the site, as we discuss in detail later in
this document.
Negatives:
• No visible public presence and community
identity
• Main entrance/reception difficult to
locate
• Challenging topography
• Wayfinding is difficult
• Site is difficult to monitor and supervise
due to number of ‘in-between’ spaces
• Site has deteriorating boundaries and can
be prone to security penetration
• Most of the existing buildings are
dilapidated and are hard to maintain
• Busy roads and intersections
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4.0 Planning and consultations
During the bid process we have had numerous
engagement sessions with the Fire and Rescue
Authority and Planning Authority. We have also
had the opportunity to share our proposals for
the new Birkenhead Community Fire Station with
members of the community through the design
Quality Indicator (DQI) process.
Consultation with the Fire and Rescue Authority
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue has worked in
close collaboration with Merseyside Fire and
Rescue in developing the design proposals for
the Birkenhead Community Fire Station.
Over the period of over a year the design
evolved from first principles to a high level
of detail through a series of technical
meetings and workshops with the Authority where
options were discussed and refinements to the
design were made to best meet the Authority’s
needs and requirements.
During the design process the fire authority
have held workshops with the individual
firefighters together with senior officers
local councillors and elective members.
These discussions have been incorporated into
the current proposals.
Planning authority
We have had two meetings with the local
authority planning officer, Joanne Storey, to
discuss the scheme in the context of the site
landscaping, form, materiality, massing, and
access requirements. As part of the process we
have discussed the conditions listed in the
outline planning approval. In addition, we have
continued an open dialogue with Joanne to
ensure that we maintain continuity, meet her
expectations and address any concerns.
Meetings held at the planning office at Wirral
Council
Meetings have been on the dates listed below:
• Wednesday 4 March 2009
• Friday 12 June 2009
• Wednesday 7 April 2010
• Thursday 22 April 2010
We have also issued pre planning application
information to support these meetings.
Consultation with the community
We sent out a letter and information sheet to
22 neighbouring properties on 16 April 2010,
notifying them of imminent planning application
and that there were display boards with plans
available for inspection on station from 21
April – 3 May 2010. We also held an open
evening on Friday 30 April 10. Unfortunately no
local councillors or members of the public
attended the open evening & no comments sheets
had been completed
Other media methods of communication
The fire authority have links on their web
pages and there have been news articles in the
local newspapers of the forth coming community
fire stations. Email were sent to local
Councillors on 22 April 2010. Informing them of
the open evening and the availability of the
information
DQI presentations
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue tested the
design for the Birkenhead Community Fire
Station at a DQI workshop, organised by North
West Fire and Rescue Services and held on the
4 th of March 2009. The DQI workshop allowed us
to engage with users and community groups and
refine our designs to suit the needs of these
stakeholders, as well as Authorities'
objectives and policies.
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5.0 Design proposals – buildings
Use
The re-provision and enhancement of services to
the Birkenhead community and its surrounding
areas has necessitated redevelopment of the
current site. As we outlined earlier, the
current facility is unsuitable for the Fire
Authorities’ current and future needs.
One of the requirements of the Fire
Authorities’ PFI asset renewal programme is
that it brings the facilities in line with
current initiatives. Not only must the
Authorities provide a base to respond from,
they also need to engage with the community to
educate and advise people on fire safety. This
means that the facilities now need a strong
public “face” that is welcoming and accessible
to all.
Over the last six months, we have worked in
partnership with the Authorities to develop and
refine the key accommodation that will deliver
this requirement. The accommodation concept
revolves around three distinct areas: response,
administration and community.
The level of accommodation in each of these
areas is determined by the Fire Authorities’
overall strategy plans. At Birkenhead the
following are key to delivering the service
level:
Response/response support
• Three appliance bays
• Watch room
• BA/BA servicing room
• Laundry/drying room
• Equipment storage/kit storage
• Change/shower areas
• Dining/kitchen/rest room
• Gym to be available for healthy living
imitative by the community
• Administration
• General administration
• Watch Manager’s office
• Communal fire safety office
• Technical fire safety
• Reception
• Community
• Multi-use meeting/lecture rooms
• Breakout areas
Hours of opening
The operational accommodation will be
accessible to respond to incidents 24/7/365 by
staff on duty and additional staff that will
arrive at the station within five minutes of
the 999 calls.
As the drive is to increase community
ownership, it is intended that the meeting room
will be available to the immediate community
during the day and early evening.
The hours considered appropriate for operation
of the various elements of the operation are:
Operational fire station
Monday – Sunday 24/7
Operational support hub
Drill tower
Monday – Sunday 24/7
Monday – Sunday 08:00 – 22:00 hours
Young Firefighters Association (YFA) hub
Monday – Sunday 08:00 – 22:00 hours
General administration
Monday – Friday 08:00 – 22:00 hours
Community hub
Monday – Sunday 08:00 – 22:00 hours
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Building layout
The overall floor area and plan footprint was
derived through a process of reviewing the
operational needs of the Fire and Rescue
Authority, canvassing the opinion of
firefighters (and senior management) and
ultimately testing the solutions against the
initial briefing data. Balfour Beatty Fire and
Rescue took the view that it was not
appropriate to simply review or recycle
previously designed projects, nor was it good
practice to start with a ‘pattern book’
approach to the operational aspects of the
building or its internal adjacencies.
With this in mind we decided to design these
facilities from the inside out. This had a
simple aim: it ensured that whichever station a
member of staff was working from, the layout
and key operational characteristics would be
similar to other stations, to the point where a
firefighter would be familiar with the location
of equipment and the ‘process’ of leaving and
returning from an emergency call out.
The accommodation schedules were analysed and
split, with accommodation broadly falling into
three zones, as represented by the interlocking
circles on the diagram below. This was the
original concept behind the three-way split in
adjacencies and key functions.
We identified that the following types of
accommodation were required:
• Operational: accommodation that is key to
the operation of a working fire station
i.e. appliance bays, equipment storage,
the watch room, breathing apparatus
servicing, drying rooms and an assembly
area
• Support: ancillary accommodation required
to support the operational function of the
fire station i.e. changing/shower rooms,
lockers, toilets, mess facilities and food
preparation. In addition to these spaces
there was also a requirement for
administration spaces and management
functions.
• Community: a key aspect of the
requirements of NWFRS was access for the
wider community to fire stations. The
accommodation required for this included
community rooms, meeting rooms, and fire
safety stores.
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6.0 Design proposals – site layout
proposal.
Site layout
During the dialogue period and in discussions
with the planning department it became
eminently clear that any surplus land would
best be incorporated into a bigger urban
renewal programme that develops the whole of
the land fronting the main junction of Exmouth
Street and South Cloughton Road.
Having made this decision, we carried out
further investigations to determine the optimum
orientation of the building.
Build zone considerations
To this end we have followed the outline
approval access and egress routes that utilise
the eastern elements of the site. This will
release land that can either be sold on support
the future redevelopment master plans, or part
retained to cater for any future expansion in
bay numbers. Our design has only a storage wall
on the end gable, helping ensure that any
alteration works are cost effective.
Before finalising our decision we studied
variants on the orientation and mass of the
building, to further substantiate the current
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Site plan
As the following site plan illustrates, the new
community fire station has been sited to the
north of the existing site. This positioning
takes into account the critical issues noted
above. It also takes advantage of the existing
good access and egress points of the site,
which are situated away from the main traffic
light junction.
The main accommodation block runs at 90 degrees
to the main road to create a soft landscaped
street frontage, which helps integrate the
community fire station into the urban fabric.
We felt it important to create a focal point to
the frontage to Exmouth Street. We have focused
the main community entrance at this location to
create a well-defined and welcoming public
entrance.
The site accommodates a drill yard in a secure
zone to the rear, away from the residential
areas. This will reduce the impact on training
times and levels.
The parking provision has been driven by the
Fire and Rescue Authorities’ operational needs.
It provides 23 spaces staff/crew, with room to
create a staff amenity area. We have provided
nine separate visitor parking spaces, accessed
off the new access road.
Security
It is of prime importance that the site remains
secure at all times, and this has had a strong
influence on our design proposals. Our design
divides the site into zones to provide
differing levels of security, enabling the
station to host the community as well as
providing a secure and efficient response base.
The illustration below indicates the thought
process behind the zoned arrangement.
Points of access
By maintaining the existing response and return
routes we have minimised the scope of highway
works beyond the boundary. This will save both
programme time and costs to the project.
The visitor parking is accessed off the returns
route with clear and safe access to the main
public entrance fronting Exmouth Street.
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7.0 Design proposals – The whole
Scale
The scale and massing of the building are
determined largely by the requirement for
accommodation of a certain area, the
operational parameters of the Fire and Rescue
Service, and the need to allow enough height
for unhindered access for fire appliances.
We have made scale and massing high priorities
in the design process. The building is next to
an important road junction, with community
buildings around this nodal point, so we have
had to make certain that it will harmonise in
scale with the immediate surroundings and still
have the presence that the Authorities’ desire.
Through detailed design studies and discussions
with the planning authorities, we determined
that the best approach was to use geometric
forms expressed in differing materials. This is
expressed in features such as the sleek,
functional appliance cube, and the bold and
inviting community entrance splay.
Massing studies
Appearance
We developed the elevation treatment through
consultation with the planning department and
through dialogue at the technical clarification
meetings.
We have used materials and shapes to enable the
potentially large facility to be seen as
smaller components. We have also applied the
principle of ‘form follows function’, designing
the elevation massing, colours and shapes of
the station to help make the distinction
between community and operational areas. The
approaching visitor will see the contrast
between the black appliance “cube” with its
transparent doors, and the bold and angled
community entrance and community rooms
dominating the intersection with the
streetscape. Not only does this help signpost
the way, it also emphasises all the ways in
which MFRS is ready to help its community.
Materials make an important contribution to the
architectural expression and character of a
building. The palette of materials we have
developed with the client and the planning
department is based on a blend of materials
such as high-quality flat metal cladding panels
and curtain walling, and brickwork panels with
recessed joints.
The blend of high-quality panelling to the
appliance ‘cube’, the dynamic vibrant panelling
system to the community splay and the
traditional use of contrasting dark and light
brickwork to the operational elevations
provides the right balance between the need for
robustness and ease of maintenance, and the
need to provide a high-quality contemporary
aesthetic. Our approach also aims to bring
together elements of the different forms,
massing and appearance of the adjacent
buildings.
The external facades will provide a hardwearing
surface, being predominately brick clad at low
level and toward the rear/operational areas.
At high level on the front elevation, we are
proposing a flat panel cladding in red, which
will make the station interesting to the eye
and establish it as a landmark in Birkenhead.
The first-floor façade is a large glass, fullheight
window onto which we envisage projecting
images as a media wall. We believe that the
introduction of glass to the front of the
building enables the community to see the
inside of the station and encourages a sense of
openness, warmth and humanity. The community
hub is located directly behind the glass facade
on the first floor. By being visible it will
generate interest, give people confidence to
approach the building and encourage local
groups to find out how they can use the
community facilities.
With regard to the appliance bays, we are
proposing to adopt a combination of flat
cladding and brickwork at DPC level. Fully
glazed automatic doors to the front elevation
front the three bays. The doors are subtle in
appearance and provide a contrast to the vivid
red of the fire appliances that can be seen
standing in readiness behind the glass. The use
of transparent doors will contribute to safety,
by allowing drivers to assess traffic and
pedestrian movements outside the station. It
will also provide the community with a sense of
security by showing that appliances are ready
for action.
Our design has angled the main community
elements of the new building towards the main
intersection of roads – the junction of Exmouth
Street and Cloughton Road. This will give the
building a strong civic presence, in accordance
with the NWFRS vision.
The design for the community fire station will
be sympathetic and respectful to neighbours.
17

For example, on the front façade, we have
ensured that the media wall wraps round the
corner, so that it is angled to face the
junction of Exmouth Street and Cloughton Road.
It also creates a more dramatic focus,
responding to the main movement lines around
the site and ensuring that the media wall can
be employed to best effect as a community
engagement and learning tool. Our design makes
sure that all the noise and operational
training areas are located away from the
immediate boundaries with the existing
residential properties, minimising any
disturbance for the residents. We have also
incorporated landscaped buffer zones.
Landscaping will further soften the
relationships, integrating the station into the
urban fabric.
It is very important to know where you are
going on a journey, and visitors will have
their attention drawn to the community hub,
with its bold and inviting frontage, as they
approach the station. The elevations are
transparent and commanding to allow glimpses of
what to expect. The community hub is located
directly behind the glass façade on the first
floor. This will generate interest, give people
confidence to approach the building and
encourage local groups to find out how they can
use the community facilities.
The route from the external public realm will
be short and straightforward. The entrance
doors lead to a secure lobby zone where
visitors can be greeted and onwards into a
welcoming foyer where visitors can pause to
look at the community displays before taking
the stairs or lift up to the first-floor
community hub. They arrive in the community
breakout space, which again allows them time to
pause and gather their thoughts before making
their way into one of the rooms that radiate
from the community hub. A welcoming entrance
and reception space
We are confident that the new Birkenhead
Community Fire Station will have a positive
impact on its neighbourhood. During the
detailed design stage we carried out further
refinements to the elevations, including choice
of materials and colour palette, to ensure our
proposals achieve the aspirations of the Fire
and Rescue Authority whilst also being
acceptable to the planning department. We aim
to continue consultations with all parties to
ensure we reach a mutually agreeable solution.
Wayfinding
We have employed “signposting by design”, to
help guide the way for visitors. The
positioning of the community rooms at the front
of the new community fire station is an
important part in the concept of the design. We
feel it is important that the building promotes
a welcoming and inviting image and is
informative to the community. The positioning
of these facilities at the front of the
building also contributes to the aesthetics of
the building, allowing different elevation
treatments to be used.
Not only is the community
entrance bold and inviting -
with the frontage angled to
invite people in - it will
also be also clearly marked
as a community entrance,
reassuring visitors that
they should indeed come in
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Security
We have had discussions with secure by design
and have incorporated there advice. The main
concept is to maintain a clear separation
between community and operational areas.
We have also given careful consideration to
security on the site around the station,
applying current thinking in Secured by Design
for Community Fire stations. Key concepts we
have incorporated in our design include:
• Perimeter fencing to the rear and
operational faces of the boundary
• CCTV cameras located at key points in and
around the site
• Obstacles to avert terrorist threats of
car bomb attacks close to public open
areas
• Staff car parking and rear operational
elements of the station are in a secure
cordon and there is an automated access
gate to this area. This has been
integrated with other features. For
example, the refuse collection point and
training areas are also located in the
secure area.
• We have introduced a second gate to
enclose the community parking.
• Where large areas of glass are
incorporated at a low level in the
building, the specification of the glass
has been increased to achieve a higher
impact resistance
Adequate lighting will be provided externally
throughout the development, which will help to
create a safe and comfortable environment.
Lighting is essential to help reduce the fear
of crime and to encourage walking during the
hours of darkness as well as providing adequate
visibility for training.
Sustainability and BREEAM
We have designed the new Birkenhead Community
Fire Station to minimise damage to the
environment and to provide a safe and healthy
environment for employees and visitors.
Our holistic approach to sustainable
development and management ensures that that
the new building brings economic and social
benefits to the local Birkenhead community as
well as environmental benefits.
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue is committed to
designing an environmentally sound and
responsive building which:
• Minimises waste through design,
construction practices and operation
• Minimises pollution from sources such as
air, noise, light and visual
• Reduces greenhouse gases and water use
• Avoids where possible the use of nonrenewable
resources
• Provides facilities to allow people to
cycle to the station
• Uses sustainable and responsibly sourced
materials from local suppliers
The benefits accrue not only on a global scale,
i.e. in the care and conservation of the
world’s natural resources. There are also local
benefits to be gained through the measures
taken under the sustainability banner.
Operational costs will be minimised for the
FRS, and local communities will benefit from
the sourcing of local materials.
The building will be naturally ventilated as
much as possible, and rely on natural daylight
to the majority of the spaces. The construction
of the external walls will be robustly designed
and well insulated to limit solar heat gain and
retain naturally generated heat. We will
install high-performance windows to ensure low
thermal loss and solar admittance.
In addressing sustainable design considerations
we employed BREEAM as one of our tools, as it
is recognised in the industry as an accurate
measure of the environmental performance of
buildings.
Over the course of the year our design team has
been working closely with the Building Research
Establishment (BRE) and Communities and Local
Government (CLG) to guide the development of
the recently released BREEAM Bespoke
methodology for fire stations.
The design team has committed to achieving a
minimum BREEAM Fire Stations “Very Good”
rating, with a greater score of greater than
60%. The BREEAM assessment is a two-stage
process to include a design stage assessment
and a post construction stage assessment to
ensure all commitments are fulfilled.
Renewable energy for the community fire
stations
To identify the most suitable Low or Zero
Carbon (LZC) technology for Birkenhead
Community Fire Station, we carried out an LZC
traffic light study. The study determined the
most suitable renewable energy technologies for
further investigation. These were aero-thermal
heat pumps and solar thermal hot water. After
detailed investigation we determined that aerothermal
heat pump technology provides the
optimum solution to the renewable energy
strategy at Birkenhead. We ruled out solar hot
water, as we found that it would contribute
only a very small amount to the total energy
demand of the station. There were also issues
associated with siting the panels on the roof.
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Aero-thermal heat pump technology will provide
a highly efficient heating system, using
thermal energy extracted from the surrounding
air. It will also deliver a renewable energy
contribution which far exceeds the aspiration
of the Authorities.
The heat pump system will be approximately 392%
efficient (Coefficient of Performance (CoP) of
3.92). This means that for every 1kW of energy
used to generate heat, the heat output will be
approximately 3.92kW. This provides
considerable energy and carbon savings compared
to a traditional gas boiler system, which is 90
to 95% efficient. The efficiency will vary
slightly depending on the size of the unit, the
external conditions and how the system is used
by the occupants of the buildings.
We have calculated that the energy demand of
Birkenhead Community Fire Station will be
353,064kWh/yr, of which the renewable energy
contribution from aero-thermal heat pump
technology is 152,280kWh/yr. This equates to a
43% renewable energy contribution from
renewable sources, which is far in excess of
the 10% aspiration of the NWFRS. This will
contribute greatly towards the requirement for
a 20% improvement on Building Regulations
(2006) - Part L. Our calculations were done
using approved energy modelling software .
Our sustainability consultants determine the
payback for this solution to be 20 years, which
is well within the expected lifespan of the
building.
• A building energy management system (BEMS)
will help optimise the heating system.
Rooms will be comfortable and ready for
use at the right time, without the need
for extended (and wasteful) pre-heat
periods.
• We will provide daylight and time control
mechanisms to control the external
lighting system
• We will provide time and occupancy-based
controls for the ventilation systems to
ensure these systems do not run
unnecessarily
• We have optimised maximised u-values for
walls, floor and roof, e.g. by using
constructions that achieve u-values better
than minimum design limits included in
Part L
• During the operation of the community fire
stations, we will use the BEMS to maintain
control over energy consumption by
monitoring the performance of the
engineering systems and recording climatic
data
The combined energy efficiency solution will
ensure that the building demonstrates an
improvement of over 20% from the requirements
in Part L of Building Regulations (2006).
Energy efficiency design features
As well as providing a safe and healthy
environment for staff and visitors, the
community fire stations are designed to be
energy efficient and minimise damage to the
environment. To help promote energy efficiency,
we have incorporated the following key features
in our designs:
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