In Spring 2025 I was contacted by fire fighters based at Camels Head station about the terrible state of the building there. This station, built in the 1960s, has reached the end of it’s serviceable life and is not fit to house the brave men and women that keep our communities safe.
In early June 2025, I met with the crews that work at Camels Head and the Chief Fire Officer, Gavin Ellis, to walk around the station and to see how I could help them with their need for a new, modern, fit for purpose fire station.
In early September, I was glad to bring together key stakeholders for a roundtable discussion about what we, as a city, could do to make sure a new fire station that served the dockyard, the Naval Base and the communities of Devonport and Keyham was delivered – and delivered soon – and that the fire station remained in the Devonport area not relocated to Crownhill putting our nuclear base safety at risk.
That meeting saw the launch of my campaign for a new building, which you can read more about HERE
After that meeting I wrote to the Secretary of State of Defence, John Healey, raising my concerns about what losing the fire station would mean for the safe operating of the Naval Base and the Dockyard. John Healey MP understood the issues and added his weight to the need for the station to remain close by.
I am delighted to see so many across Plymouth celebrating the success of my campaign with the Fire Service, as the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority formally made their decision to rebuild the station in it’s current location. This is a huge win for Devonport and Keyham, and means our communities will be kept safe for generations to come by fire fighters who know and understand the needs of this community. It also means those fire fighters will be able to work in a brand new, fit for purpose, building – reflecting the status they deserve.
This campaign is not over yet, we need to ensure that the temporary station is workable, and most importantly is right here in our community, not moved to the other side of the city, so I will be keeping up the pressure on this and fighting to ensure our fire service has the tools it needs to keep us safe.