WORK STARTS ON WEST MIDLANDS AMBULANCE STATION AT ETRURIA VALLEY
St. Modwen has started work on an 18,865 sq ft purpose-built Community Ambulance Station for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) at its Etruria Valley scheme in Stoke-on-Trent.
WMAS is re-locating from its current location in Penkhull to the purpose-built hub facility and community ambulance station, allowing the expansion of the service to meet the needs of the city’s growing population. J Tomlinson has been appointed as the contractor for the new building.
The new hub will be used principally for the maintenance and preparation of ambulance vehicles, including the repair, cleaning, re-stock and storage of ambulances and supplies, ensuring that ambulances are stocked and ready to go at the start of a shift. Part of the building will also provide offices along with training space and facilities for staff.
Euan Lindsay, Senior Development Manager at St. Modwen, said: “Etruria Valley offers an ideal location for the new ambulance hub, providing easy access to the A500 arterial road which runs through Stoke-on-Trent and therefore considerably improves emergency response times.
“The new purpose-built building will allow the service to accommodate its space requirements and expand in order to meet the demands of the city’s growing population.”
Nick Henry General Manager for Staffordshire and Arden at WMAS, added: “Whilst the existing facility on Hilton Road has served the people of Stoke on Trent and the surrounding areas extremely well since it was built in 1971, the increase in demand and higher clinical standards required mean it is no longer fit for purpose.
“The new Community Ambulance Station will enable the service to provide the very best facilities, ensuring that our growing fleet of ambulances can be cleaned, prepared and restocked on a 24/7 basis so that we can continue to provide the highest standards of care to the people of North Staffordshire.”
The Trust now has a network of similar ambulance hubs across the West Midllands including sites in Lichfield, Willenhall, Hollymoor and Warwick.
Martin Gallagher, construction managing director at contractor J Tomlinson, said: “J Tomlinson is pleased to have been appointed by St. Modwen to build the new ambulance facility serving the North Staffordshire community.
“This is the third scheme that we have constructed for St. Modwen, and also continues our existing relationship with West Midlands Ambulance Service, for whom we currently maintain 92 sites in the region.”
The site forms part phase 2 of the Etruria Valley redevelopment, which is already home to Vodafone, DPD Group and Hanley Economic Building Society.
Etruria Valley is part of Festival Park extending to over 300 acres and comprises major office and commercial development, a retail park, Leisure Park, 4 star 150 bedroom Hotel, restaurants and housing. The development is strategically located off the A53 dual carriageway and within 400 metres of the A500 urban expressway, linking Stoke to junctions 15 and 16 on the M6.
