THE FUTURE looks uncertain for Dorset’s fire service headquarters based in Poundbury after it was revealed a new combined service ‘central hub’ will be based in Salisbury.

In the announced about the new hub, assurances were made that no decisions had yet been made about the ‘long-term futures of any existing premises’.

This includes the state-of-the-art headquarters based in Poundbury, which was opened by Prince Charles back in 2009.

The merger between the Dorset Fire Service and the Wiltshire Fire Service into one single authority is set to take place on April 1 next year.

When the plans were agreed last year it was revealed the merger could see the services save between £5.3million and £6.7million combined.

A detailed review of the whole service estate across Wiltshire and Dorset is now underway.

Darran Gunter, Chief Fire Officer for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It’s important to state that the hub is not a new headquarters; we want to change the way we work.

“Having staff across two counties means moving away from the traditional structures of the past.

“Since we started on the road to combination, we have been clear that we would need some sort of central 'hub' in the Salisbury area to serve the new organisation.

“The costs of establishing the new hub are being met from a Transformation Grant from the Government.”

The combined service will occupy part of the Five Rivers community campus in Salisbury, following the signing of a lease with Wiltshire Council.

The campus will be home to the service's 'strategic hub', providing a central workplace for its management team, a number of flexible working options for the new service personnel and a meeting place for teams, departments and the new Fire Authority.

The plans when they were announced last year were anticipated to make 20 backroom staff redundant but it was not anticipated that there would be any frontline redundancies.

Mr Gunter said: "It is important to emphasise that we are still in the process of determining which members of staff might be relocated to Salisbury from other parts of Wiltshire and Dorset.

“It is not a case of just moving a set of offices from one place to another. As the new organisational structure is agreed, it will become clear which functions will need to be based at the hub and where we will be able to explore alternative ways of working, such home working or focused team office days."

Cllr Rebecca Knox, Chairman of the Dorset Fire Authority, said the new hub will be ‘at the heart’ of the new service and the authority look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months.

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