A Cessnock councillor’s dream for a combined facility for ambulance, police, rescue and fire services could be one step closer after next week’s council meeting.
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Rod Doherty has prepared a notice of motion for the September 6 meeting to form a committee with police, ambulance and fire services which will work towards establishing an emergency services precinct next to the Hunter Expressway.
The idea comes after the Kurri Kurri District Business Chamber created a committee in 2010 to look at life after the Hunter Expressway opened and what impacts it would have on the district.
The committee contacted the University of NSW, Town Planning Faculty to offer lecturers and town planning students an opportunity to work on the project.
Their findings and ideas were presented at two public meetings in 2011 and out of that the business chamber built 10 big ideas for the future.
One of those ideas was a proposal for a combined emergency services precinct adjacent to the Hunter Expressway.
The concept of a combined emergency services precinct has been implemented in Queensland and South Australia but not in NSW, according to Cr Doherty.
The idea was presented to a forum of emergency services personnel in September 2011. It was then passed on to the then Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mike Gallacher in Newcastle.
Cr Doherty said while the idea has been in the pipeline for years, the recent opening of Abermain Fire Station, concerns around the Weston Fire Brigade and a recent visit by NSW Police Highway Patrol Commanders to look at the aging Kurri Kurri Police Station reignited the project.
He said the precinct would allow a rapid response from emergency services, and as a former ambulance officer, Cr Doherty believes the expressway would be a safer area to travel at high speeds.
Cr Doherty said a working committee would help kick start the project, which he believes will help to service the growing community in the future.