A TEAM of retained firefighters will have a new base after plans to rebuild a station in the centre of Skelton were approved.

People living nearby had raised concerns about parking and safety issues, but Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s planning committee gave the project the goahead.

Cleveland Fire Brigade wanted to demolish its base and replace it with a facility more suited to modern requirements.

Tony Churchill, private finance intitiative director for Cleveland Fire Brigade, told the meeting that alternative sites had been investigated, but the safest option was to rebuild the station in the High Street.

He said: “We carried out a risk assessment putting in three years’ of incidents and used the details of the current site and the one on the industrial estate.

“The current site came out as the best option because moving to the industrial estate would have an effect on the time it takes to respond to incidents and that could result in more deaths.”

The station will incorporate a community room to help the brigade connect with people to get across their fire safety messages.

It also includes improved parking facilities and vehicle access for the retained fire officers.

One resident objected to the plan fearing the inclusion of the community room would lead to a rise in problems with youths congregating in the area.

She said: “There has been a lack of information about what the community facility is going to be used for.

“We had a problem with youths congregating at the pizza shop and we had to get the police involved to deal with that and I am concerned that we could be returning to the problem.”

Cleveland Fire Authority member and borough council member Brenda Forster said: “The fire station needs replacing and refurbishing – it’s not suitable and the staff deserve the best facilities.”

Councillor Mark Hannon reminded committee members that retained fire officers must live within one mile of the station and moving it to Skelton Industrial Estate could result in the loss of experienced volunteers.

Committee chairman Councillor Brian Hogg said: “I believe, having lived in Brotton and seen the response times from Skelton, it is in the best place.

“I do accept the problems residents have with parking, but I believe we need fire services and emergency services in the most suitable places.”