Holme Valley MRT Headquarters Project

Holme Valley Team - Headquarters project

Emergency House - The Team's new Headquarters

In September 2005 the Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team began to undertake one of the biggest changes in it's history.

During September and October 2005 we moved Headquarters from our base in Meltham to share premises with Marsden retained fire crew. This provided facilities that were far superior, with the scope for the Team to continue to develop.

But this is not all, we began another project for the Team's future. Over the next few years we are beginning working on the planning and building of a new permanent Headquarters for the Team in Meltham.

This is the story of these 2 projects...

This page has details of our move to Emergency House, Marsden.

What the move to Emergency House will mean for the Team.

Also our long term plans to build a new purpose built Headquarters in Meltham.

Background to our move to Marsden

The Holme Valley Team in it's new headquarters

The Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team has been looking for new premises for the last few years. For years we have been based in a building making up part of the Meltham Hall park and grounds. Though this has been a building Meltham Town Council has been happy for us to occupy (rent free) over recent years the surrounding grounds and building have been sold on for redevelopment. The building we are base in is the only one not yet sold.

The Holme Valley Team has found over the years, with our growing membership, training programme and commitments, that we were outgrowing this building. For example, whenever we wanted to have a meeting or do indoor training we had to move out our vehicles and work on the garage floor!

An ideal opportunity came the way of the Holme Valley Team by way of the West Yorkshire Fire Service. They began to realise that they were outgrowing their fire station in nearby Marsden. Emergency House, on the main A62 in Marsden (and next to the existing fire station) came up for sale making an ideal new base. Ironically this building had been used by a company that created pyrotechnic effects for film and TV!. This building was ideal for a new fire station apart from one thing - being a little on the large side for a retained fire crew. This proved to be an ideal partnership for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services and the Holme Valley Team.

Over recent years the Holme Valley Team has taken on major projects to replace both our vehicles over and above our fundraising to keep the Team running, so with the confidence and skills learnt from these we are excited to take this project on. The extra space and plans for the building means we will have more space to store and maintain our equipment, as well as improved training facilities, even space for a small office and control room!

The Fire Service moved in a little ahead of the Team and the following 2 links will open news items from the local press raising awareness of this.

What this will mean for the Team...
Not only will this be a move of village, from Meltham to Marsden, it will offer a greater opportunity to develop the Holme Valley Team for the future. Up to press, whenever the Holme Valley Team has done any indoor training or have a Council meeting it has involved moving out the vehicles, if it has rained, mopping the floor (as the roof leaks in several places!) and work on the garage floor. Emergency House will offer much more space for training and maintaining equipment etc. The space we have been allocated at Emergency House comprises of the 2 left hand bays as well as storage space and the potential for a working office. As well as this there are facilities that are far and beyond what the Team has ever had with a small kitchen and toilets! The West Yorkshire Fire Service have plans to re-develop the main part of Emergency House, amongst other things converting some of the open floor space into a 'Community Room'. This will offer an ideal space for indoor training and presentations to suppliment our training programme.	Large floorspace for vehicles and equipment.
	The shared kitchen area in Emergency House.
Work undertaken so far...
Even on the morning of transfering all our equipment from one base to another we were completing an application form for a grant to enable us to refit the 'store room' to make this into an office. The facility of an office would enable the Team to have a useable space and luxury of a working area to plan and control training exercises and incidents - something we have never had before The grant application was successful, see the fundraising page for news of the Cuckoo's Nest grant. This grant has enabled us to buy chairs, tables and whiteboards for a better indoor training environment. Also we were able to buy all the supplies to set up the office to work from. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (the building's owners) have already replaced the roof, including upgrading the insulation. They have also upgraded the heating for the building. Future plans for Emergency House will include the Fire Service building a 'community room' which will enable local groups in the area to have a meeting place, but it will also provide a fantastic venue for Team training.	A store room for now, but soon our new office.
	The 2 bays that are the new Holme Valley Team headquarters.

For the future...

Running along side the planned move to Marsden the Holme Valley Team has been given the opportunity to investigate more longer term plans to build a new purpose built base and Headquarters on old allotment land on old allotment ground at the eastern end of the Meltham Hall park. This plan will involve planning and building new premises, together with the David Brown's Tractor Club.

So far, because of the tree preservation order placed on the surrounding area we have had a tree survey done and from this we are starting the associated planning process for the building and change of land use.

This is very much in the early stage and there is much more work to be done with this, so more will follow which we will let you know about as it happens...

Holme Valley Team - Headquarters project

Background to our move to Marsden

What this will mean for the Team...

Work undertaken so far...

For the future...