Fylde Council approves plans to transform historic Wesham fire station into MOT garage
The Old Fire Station at 50 Station Road in Wesham has been vacant for more than three decades.
The redevelopment of a historic Fylde coast fire station has been given the green light.
The Old Fire Station at 50 Station Road in Wesham has been vacant for more than three decades now.
Having first opened in 1926, the station had previously been home to the Wesham Fire Department but the unit have now been based at a site on Fleetwood Road since October 1991.
Back in March of this year, however, brand new plans for the historic Station Road site were revealed for the first time.
Fylde Borough Council received an planning application seeking to change the use of the former fire station to “an MOT testing station (use class e(g)(iii)) including alteration to courtyard (south facing) elevation to replace window with garage access door”.
Earlier this month, the authority granted the application as long as the development meets certain conditions.
These conditions include the fact that the use of the building hereby permitted shall be limited to a use as a vehicle MOT testing centre only and before first operational use as an MOT station, the following highway improvement works must be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority:
- “The introduction of waiting restrictions to prevent the parking, waiting or unloading of any vehicles around the junction between Station Road and Garstang Road South.
- “The installation of a series of bollards or another physical feature, and the design of the bollards / physical feature, that are to be erected to provide a physical barrier to prevent use of, and parking in front of, the original fire doors to the front of the property
- “The full reinstatement of full height kerbs from the bus stop on Station Road and around the junction in-front of the fire doors to the front of the property along Garstang Road South; or the partial reinstatement of full-height kerbs, to facilitate a pedestrian crossing, from the bus stop on Station Road and around the junction in-front of the fire doors to the front of the property along Garstang Road South”.
Fylde Borough Council also stated that the former Fire Station fire door “shall remain as a timber door consistently painted a red colour unless an alternative material and/or finished treatment for this door opening has been previously submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.“
This is so ensure that it is “reminiscent of the character and local distinctiveness of this building as a former fire station thereby maintaining the strong positive contribution that building makes to the Wesham centre streetscene and the heritage assets in that location”.
The site, measuring 318 square metres, is to be used in its entirety as an MOT Testing Station.
Plan drawings show the existing office, toilet, kitchen, reception, store and yard will remain the same, whilst the two work areas are to become garages.
The MOT Test Centre plans to have two full time workers and be open 8:30am-5:30 Mondays to Fridays, and 8:30am-1:00pm on Saturdays.
The proposal seeks to make no changes to the number of existing car parking spaces, there currently being four.
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