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Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Fire Authorities' Regional Management Board
Extraordinary Meeting held on Friday 21 May 2004 at the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Birkenshaw
Present
Humberside Fire and Rescue Authority
Councillor D G Barkworth
Mr M Khuri
Mr K Marshall
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Councillor G Rennie
Councillor J Morley
Mr N Hutchinson
Mr E Clark
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Councillor J Andrews
Councillor M Nazir OBE
Councillor P Scriven
Mr M Smitherman
Mr C Bryce
Mr D Cutting
West Yorkshire Fire Authority
Councillor H Fox
Councillor T McElroy
Councillor P M Harrand
Councillor M Granger
Mr P Toase
Mr D Monks
Mr G Maren
In attendance
Ms U Harrison - Govt. Office for Yorkshire & Humber
Mr R Blackburn – FBU
Secretariat
Mr M G Barnes
Mrs N Houseman
18 Apologies for absence
Councillor C Randall – Humberside Fire and Rescue Authority
19 Minutes of the last meeting
Resolved
That the Minutes of the Board at a meeting held on 1 April 2004 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
20 Urgent Items
There were no urgent items for consideration at the meeting.
21 Admission of the public
Resolved
That there were no items which necessitated the exclusion of the public.
22 Declarations of Interest
Councillor J Andrews (South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority)
declared a personal interest in agenda item E6 Regional Control Room Potential
Sites (minute no. 23 refers) insofar as two of the potential sites were located in
close proximity to his home address.
23 Regional Control Room Potential Sites
The Director of Fire Safety and Technical Services (West Yorkshire Fire and
Rescue Service) submitted a report in his capacity of Chair of the Regional
Control Room project team which informed Members of potential sites for the
establishment of a regional control room.
Members were reminded that the draft technical specification for regional control rooms would preclude any of the existing brigade facilities and would require a new build.
It was reported that an investigation of possible sites had been undertaken by the regional project team which focused on an area surrounding the M1, M62 and A1 / M1 Link Road.
A number of sites were owned by developers who could submit them directly to
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in response to the OJEU notice.
These sites were detailed in the report now submitted.
A further site at Whitehall Road, Birkenshaw, (a plot of land within the West
Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters curtilage) had also been
identified which, if approved, could be submitted by the Board under the Private
Developer Scheme.
Members were concerned to learn, however, that the recently received revised
guidance from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister made it clear that, if this
region submitted a site, it could not have a regional representative on the
selection team for as long as the region’s submitted site remained in
consideration.
Government had yet to make it clear what proportion of the costs of Regional
Control Rooms would be met by central Government and once the cost to the
constituent Fire Authorities was known it would then be necessary to address the
issue of cost sharing.
It was further reported that a nomination of regional representative was required to be made and the ODPM advised by 28 May. Members were advised that any one member of the regional project team was suitably qualified and met the ODPM criteria for regional representative on the Regional Control Room site selection team.
Resolved
(i) That no proposed regional control room site be recommended by the
Yorkshire and Humberside Fire Authorities’ Regional Management Board
(RMB) for consideration by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and
(ii) That Mr David Monks, Director of Fire Safety and Technical Services,
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, be appointed as the RMB’s
representative on the ODPM regional control room site selection team.
Chair