Plymouth fire station buildings under review - with possible rebuild on the cards
Bosses say no final decision has yet been made on the future of the sites at Crownhill and Camels Head
Last updated 23rd Jul 2025
Fire stations and training facilities are currently being reviewed across the Plymouth area.
Bosses say the Crownhill and Camels Head sites are more than 60 years old and options include rebuilding Camels Head - and rebuilding or refurbishing Crownhill.
The service is also asking about the potential 'full development of Crownhill into a modern co-located operational facility, potentially supported by a smaller facility in the Camels Head area'.
Bosses say Camels Head was built using concrete frame construction and has reached the end of its economic life - adding 'it needs a complete rebuild to maintain functional and safe facilities that meet modern standards'.
The fire service say the proposed changes are in response to the growing number of homes in the area and government's strategic defence review - as well as the need to be financially sustainable in the long-term.
Group Commander Simon Young, from Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: "What we're looking for is people's views to help us come up with the best option. We want to understand whether there's any local risk that we may not be aware of and how valuable you believe your local fire stations are in meeting those risks.
"Nothing has been decided yet and we want to understand what the impact could be - whilst we explore some options which are available to us."
In online comments so far, some people have suggested it means ‘cuts’ and called for a return to the levels of cover seen back in the 1970s - along with likely response times to be published showing the impact of any changes.
Chief Fire Officer Gavin Ellis added: “We want to understand whether there are any local risks we may not be aware of and how valuable you believe your local fire station is in meeting those risks.
“Nothing’s been decided yet. We want to understand what the impact could be while we explore options for what we need to build, to deliver the best community response to you that we possibly can.”
"With 11,500 new homes planned for parts of Plymouth by 2034, new risks and a reduced budget for the fire service, we are looking at the most effective way to deliver our services to the areas of Plymouth served by these stations.
"We are committed to investing and improving the estate in Plymouth, however there is a need to make sure we are investing public money wisely and have an estate that is sustainable over the long term."
Detailed information and a link to the survey can be found here