PLANS for a radical renovation of Malvern Fire Station have been approved at the second time of asking.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) plans to completely remodel the station, in Worcester Road, Malvern Link, to bring it up to modern standards.

This work will see the building’s distinctive triangular outline replaced with a rectangular profile and flat roof.

An earlier application was refused in July for being unduly prominent and not up to scratch for the conservation area.

Malvern Civic Society had criticised the revised plans as being little different but planning officers at Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) felt otherwise.

They felt the use of dressed stone, matching nearby Malvern Community Hospital, and a reduction in height contributed towards a design that would “enhance” the character and appearance of the area.

Their recommendations were endorsed by MHDC’s southern area development control committee, who voted in favour by 16 votes to two, with two abstentions.

Alan Jones, capital projects manager at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS), is delighted with the approval.

He said: “The existing building is no longer fit for purpose.

“The alterations will provide a building with enhanced training facilities, reduced running costs and a vastly improved carbon footprint that complies with modern building standards and is befitting of a modern fire service.”

But Malvern Civic Society planning sub-committee chairman Bob Tilley, who spoke against the plan at the meeting, feels it is “an opportunity missed”.

“It looks like a toy town fire station with red doors and a flat roof and a modern office block along the side,” he said. “There are several buildings that have gone up or are going up [nearby] with some effort at design and frankly this has none at all.

“We accept they need to improve the fire station but they could have designed something a bit better.”

Construction work will start in January and is expected to last 11 months.

Staff and appliances will temporarily move to HWFRS’s operational logistics site, in Betony Road.