Bath’s iconic fire station near Cleveland Bridge, an Art Deco gem from 1938, is set to be demolished and replaced with a modern facility. Avon Fire and Rescue Service has submitted a planning application to Bath and North East Somerset Council, citing the building’s outdated design as a significant obstacle to effective firefighting.
The station’s appliance bay doors, constructed in the 1930s, are too narrow for today’s larger fire engines, leading to frequent collisions with the building’s sides. This not only risks damaging expensive equipment but also endangers response times in emergencies. The current building also lacks essential decontamination facilities required for modern firefighting operations. Furthermore, ground movement has caused severe structural cracking, raising safety concerns.
The proposed new fire station will feature six wider and taller appliance bays—one more than the existing five—to accommodate state-of-the-art fire engines efficiently. It will include dedicated spaces for equipment storage, decontamination, and preparation. Emphasis will be placed on energy efficiency, addressing the current station’s disproportionate energy consumption, which accounts for a quarter of Avon Fire and Rescue Service’s total usage despite having 21 stations nationwide.
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Crucially, the rebuild will enhance firefighter welfare with new physical and mental health facilities. The current station falls short in providing areas for recovery and wellbeing, an issue the fire crews have highlighted. The new plans propose a “dedicated wellbeing terrace” with greenery for reflection, indoor and outdoor spaces fostering relaxation, a gym to maintain fitness standards, and social areas such as a modern kitchen and lounge. These improvements aim to support the mental health of firefighters, who often face traumatic and high-pressure situations.
While these upgrades promise substantial benefits, the plan involves losing a piece of Bath’s architectural heritage. The Twentieth Century Society, a group dedicated to preserving 20th-century buildings, has urged Historic England to list the fire station, emphasizing its architectural beauty and the historic significance of Molly Taylor—the female architect who completed the project after her father’s death in 1938, a notable achievement in a male-dominated field.
Fire authorities maintain that refurbishing the aging structure to meet today’s operational and safety standards is unfeasible, especially given ongoing structural instability. Moving to a new site poses challenges too, mainly due to staffing logistics tied to the requirement for on-call firefighters to live within five minutes of the station.
The design for the new fire station respects its heritage by reclaiming the original fireman’s pole and carefully preserving the building’s crest, which will be prominently displayed at the new entrance. These elements will serve as tangible links to the station’s storied past even as it transitions into a future-ready facility.