Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service had Upton Fire Station valued for insurance purposes at £1.1 million and West Kirby Fire Station at £1.085 million in March 2015

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service had Upton Fire Station valued for insurance purposes at £1.1 million and West Kirby Fire Station at £1.085 million in March 2015

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service had Upton Fire Station valued for insurance purposes at £1.1 million and West Kirby Fire Station at £1.085 million in March 2015

                                               

Dan Stephens (Chief Fire Officer, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service) answers questions at a public consultation meeting in Saughall Massie to discuss proposals for a new fire station (20th April 2015). Kieran Timmins (Deputy Chief Executive) is on the right.
Dan Stephens (Chief Fire Officer) answers questions at a public consultation meeting in Saughall Massie to discuss proposals for a new fire station (20th April 2015)

Information revealed through a recent Freedom of Information Act request shows that Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service paid a firm of chartered surveyors to value both Upton and West Kirby fire stations in March 2015.

Upton Fire Station was valued for insurance purposes at £1.1 million (with a Depreciated Replacement Cost valuation of £590,000) with West Kirby Fire Station insurance purposes value was £1.085 million (with a Depreciated Replacement Cost valuation of £685,000).

The valuation also revealed that Upton Fire Station has an estimated economic lifespan of ten years and West Kirby Fire Station of fifteen years. In a letter accompanying the response to the Freedom of Information Act request Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service stated “Please note the attached Valuations are not market values but Depreciated replacement cost (DRC) valuations, only obtained for insurance purposes, we do not hold information about market values. The valuations have been provided in accordance with the RICS valuation – Professional Standards 2014 (“the Red Book”)”.

Despite Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service stating “we do not hold information about market values” of Upton Fire Station and West Kirby Fire Station a report to councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority in January 2015 stated “The costs of any new build station are referenced in Appendix F, together with an estimate of the potential income from the sale of the buildings and land at Upton and West Kirby.”

Councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority have passed resolutions in October 2014 and January 2015 to keep the estimated capital costs of building a new fire station (along with estimates of what they would receive from a sale of Upton Fire Station and West Kirby Fire Station) out of the public domain.

A report on the recent consultation will be published tomorrow. Councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority will meet next week and decide what happens next.

Out of the eighteen councillors on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, the four councillors representing Wirral Council are Councillor Lesley Rennie, Councillor Denise Roberts, Councillor Jean Stapleton and Councillor Steve Niblock.

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