FIRE chiefs have taken another step towards closing down York’s “outdated” fire station in Clifford Street and building a new one several hundred yards away.

A planning application for a £4.5 million new station on the site of the former coach park in Kent Street has been submitted to City of York Council.

The scheme involves fire engine parking bays, a training tower, an office building with community, meeting and rest rooms and related accommodation, a training tower and an exercise yard.

The coach park site, which is just across the road from York Barbican, is described as a “highly accessible location to serve the York communities”.

Proposals to build the new station were agreed by the North Yorkshire Fire Authority in February, despite some concerns raised about the cost of the scheme at a time of austerity.

Unions claimed a loan for the project would be repaid from the same budget as salaries and therefore result in staff reductions, but authority vice-chairman Coun Ken King said the old station was simply not “fit for purpose”.

Stronger protests were made by firefighters and conservation watchdogs about an associated proposal to transfer one of the city centre’s two fire engines out to Huntington fire station, but the authority recently agreed to press ahead with this change as well.

A transport statement by URS Scott Wilson, submitted to York council with the application, says the number of call-outs from the new station would average out at about four or five per day.

The station could accommodate visitors, either to use the training facilities or as part of community/school trips.

“A community room would be available for other public sector and associated organisations for meetings and training purposes which are linked to that of the fire service,” it said.

The report said planning permission had been granted previously for a 108-bed hotel on the site which would have created more traffic than the station.