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A new specialist ambulance base has officially opened in Liverpool, giving the city’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) its first purpose-built home.
Elm Point, a £14.5m development on the site of the former Merseyside Regional Ambulance Service HQ, was formally opened on 25 September by the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside.
Until now, Liverpool’s HART had shared premises with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service at their Special Operations Centre in Croxteth. The new site provides bespoke facilities designed to support the team’s highly specialised training and response needs.
Features include a climbing tower, training tunnel, specialist classrooms, a fully equipped gym, modern office space, a large mess room and kitchen, and an indoor depot for the team’s fleet of specialist vehicles.
HART paramedics are trained to work in challenging environments such as at height, in water or in confined spaces, delivering lifesaving care where access is difficult. NWAS has two HART bases, one in Liverpool and one in Manchester, providing cover across the region 24/7.
The Liverpool team has responded to some of the North West’s most significant recent incidents, including the Manchester Arena bombing, the Bosley Mill fire and, more recently, the Liverpool FC parade incident.
Matt Calderbank, Head of Special Operations at NWAS, said the new base was a “significant and vital investment”:
“This gives our Liverpool HART the facilities they need to train, prepare and respond to incidents across the region. Today’s opening marks the culmination of 18 months of planning and construction, and we’re proud to have involved the local community in its creation.
“I want to thank Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service for hosting the team for all these years, and we look forward to the difference this will make to our operational resilience.”
As part of the build, NWAS invited local schoolchildren from Princes Primary and All Saints Primary to contribute artwork for the building and to bury a time capsule beneath the site. Pupils also visited in July to tour the new base, explore vehicles, try on kit and learn basic lifesaving skills from the team.
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