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Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has secured planning permission for a new Training and Development Centre in Billesdon, after Harborough District Council granted approval with unanimous support.
The £14m project will see a training hub built on a former Leicestershire County Council Highways depot on the edge of the village. Once complete, it will become a central site for firefighter training across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, replacing the Billesdon Fire Station building which has been in use since 1962.
The development is the latest in a series of investment programmes for the service, following recent refurbishment works at Market Bosworth, Eastern, Western and Southern stations. The new centre is designed to support realistic, scenario-based training and will include modern equipment, lecture and welfare facilities, garaging space and advanced operational zones.
Features planned for the site include a multi-storey fire behaviour unit and a simulated motorway environment, reflecting recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the wider push for more complex and live-fire training environments.
Residents were consulted last year during an engagement session at Billesdon Fire Station, where crews shared details of the plan and responded to questions about its impact locally.
Chief Fire Officer, Callum Faint said the approval marks “a major investment” for the service.
“This facility will ensure all of our firefighters are prepared for a wide range of scenarios, now and into the future. It reflects our commitment to preventing incidents, limiting their impact and responding effectively when we’re needed.”
With planning now confirmed, site clearance is expected to begin early next year, followed by construction. Councillor Craig Smith, Chair of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Combined Fire Authority, welcomed the decision, saying the project will “enable our Fire and Rescue Service to keep communities safe for decades to come.”
Councillor Dan Harrison, Leader of Leicestershire County Council, added that the use of the surplus brownfield site, sold for £1.7m, will bring wider benefit.
“It’s great to see the land put to good use and the proceeds reinvested into vital services,” he said.
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