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Her Royal Highness The
Princess Royal opened Merseyside's new joint Police and Fire Command
and Control Centre (JCC)
ON Tuesday, 16 December 2014, Her Royal
Highness The Princess Royal opened Merseyside's new joint Police and
Fire Command and Control Centre (JCC) situated at Bridle Road, in
Bootle. The centre is based at the Merseyside Fire and Rescue
Authority and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service headquarters and is
a mixture of a new build and refurbishment of the current
building.
The co-location of the Fire and
Police control room functions provides an exciting opportunity to
deliver a more efficient and effective service to the public. Both
emergency services share site infrastructure and facilities with the
potential for sharing of technology solutions in the longer term.
2 Merseyside Police officers on horseback, wearing
full regalia, along with 4 Police Officers and 4 Fire Officers in
undress uniform provided the guard of honour for The Princess Royal.
Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens , Chief Constable Jon Murphy and
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Pilling formally welcomed HRH and
invited her to open the building and take a tour.
Princess Anne and her party had a tour of the centre that included
visiting the police and fire control rooms as well as meeting staff
including operational planning teams who are also co-located at the
JCC. Princess Anne also met the Chair of Merseyside Fire and Rescue
Authority, Councillor Dave Hanratty, as well as the Police and Crime
Commissioner for Merseyside Jane Kennedy and the Lord Lieutenant and
High Sheriff of Merseyside.
During her visit she spoke of how impressed he had been with the
centre and the value of all of the emergency service staff working
there.
Following the tour HRH unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion and
said:- "I know how difficult these centres are to bring
together and I congratulate the total of you who have been involved
and I'm glad I have been in here for just a little while to find out
how it really works."
The HRH was also presented with posies of flowers by Serena Garcia,
5, whose mum works in the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Control
Room and Millie Greenop, 13, whose mother works for Merseyside
Police.
2 antique fire appliances, the Dennis F8 built in the 1950's and the
open Albion from the 1940's, were also on display for the Princess
Royal to see before she left the site.
The Joint Control Centre (JCC) now houses Merseyside Police's Force
Contact Centre handling nearly 1.1 million telephone calls from the
public each year including those to:- 101, general enquiries and
280,000 via the:- 999 emergency number. It also houses Merseyside
Police's Force Control which allocates personnel to respond to
incidents, previously these functions were located at five separate
sites across Merseyside.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service previously had their Fire
Control, which deals with some 100,000 calls annually, located in
premises built in 1960 as the headquarter's station of the Liverpool
Salvage Corps on Derby Road in Kirkdale. Following the disbanding of
the Corps in 1984 it passed to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority.
The new Fire Control went live at the JCC on 1 July 2014.
In addition to the Contact Centre, Force Control and Fire Control,
the JCC premises also provide accommodation which for the 1st time
allows the co-location of MF&RS, Merseyside Police, and the North
West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) Operational Planning teams.
The overall cost of the project including refurbishment of the
existing Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority site was £7.6 million
and was funded by Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue
Authority. A contract was signed in March 2013 on the project and
the 2 storey premises was completed in 2014.
It is one of the first buildings of its type in the country.
Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens said:- "This is a momentous
occasion marking a real milestone for the emergency services on
Merseyside. The centre has excellent facilities including dedicated
Strategic and Tactical Co-ordination Group meeting rooms for use
during major incidents. The JCC will undoubtedly be a significant
asset to us and Merseyside Police in the future. Merseyside Fire and
Rescue Authority opted for a Merseyside solution that would keep
jobs on Merseyside. The Fire and Rescue Authority received a
Government grant of £1.8 million towards the build of the Joint
Control Centre."
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Pilling, said:- "The provision
of this building is a great example of partnership working, and we
are seeing clear operational and financial benefits of working
alongside our Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service colleagues in this
new building. I am delighted that Her Royal Highness was able to
join us to celebrate the official opening of the centre. It is a
place from which we can deliver our vision of working in partnership
to make Merseyside safer."
The move to the Joint Command Centre is a major success story for
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Police and most
importantly, the people of Merseyside.
Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said:- "I'm
delighted that Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, was able to
give her time to officially open the new Joint Command and Control
Centre. The opening of this centre is a major success story for
Merseyside Police and the Fire and Rescue Service who are both
committed to ensuring that, at times of need, the public in our
region receive the best possible care and support. This centre is a
very good example of how they are working together to serve people
on Merseyside and ensure our region remains one of the safest places
in the country to live, work and visit."
For example:-
► Control rooms for both Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and
Merseyside Police have relocated to the building. A total of 34
staff are based in Fire Control.
► The JCC also houses Multi Agency Strategic and Tactical command
suites and conference rooms. These are used by Merseyside Fire &
Rescue Service (MF&RS), Merseyside Police, and the North West
Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) and staff from other agencies and
local authorities to provide high level command and control of major
emergency and public order events across Merseyside
► State of the art technology has been installed and is being
utilised by all of the staff.
► This project fully supports the ethos of joint working as mandated
in the Civil Contingencies Act in relation to major emergencies.
Procurement was undertaken through the North West Construction Hub
and the tender competition was won by Kier Construction Ltd.
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£20,000 donated
to the Clatterbridge cancer charity
THE Clatterbridge Cancer
Charity in the Wirral has been gifted £20,000 from the Tessa Briggs
Charitable Trust.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, which operates across 9 sites in
Merseyside and Cheshire, treats over 30,000 patients per year
offering pioneering chemotherapy, radiotherapy and proton therapy
treatment. This donation will be used to fund part of their ground
breaking radiotherapy technique, Papillon.
Robin Jones, a former partner at Knights Solicitors Chester and a
trustee of the Trust presented the cheque to The Clatterbridge
Cancer Charity. He was accompanied by Lisa Jones of Knights
Solicitors who is the solicitor responsible for the administration
of the Trust.
Lisa said:- "The work at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is
ground breaking and when the Trust received a proposal from the
charity, we felt confident it was something that Mrs Briggs would
have wanted to support.
On behalf of the Trust we are pleased to be able to donate £20,000
to their cause. A sizeable donation was also given a little while
ago towards the new Papillon Centre at Clatterbridge; a
purpose built, state of the art facility which opened last year."
Maureen Ellison, trusts and major donor manager at The Clatterbridge
Cancer Charity, said:- "We were delighted to receive this
generous donation from the Tessa Briggs Charitable Trust.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has led the way in Papillon
radiotherapy as the first UK hospital to provide this pioneering
form of treatment. It offers an alternative to extensive surgery for
suitable patients with early rectal cancer, so is particularly
helpful for those who are too frail for an operation.
This donation will fund a study that we hope will enable even more
patients to benefit from Papillon treatment in the future."
The Tessa Briggs Trust funds will be used for a study looking at
evidence around the clinical benefits of Papillon treatment. It is
hoped this will enable even more patients to benefit from Papillon
radiotherapy as an alternative to surgery.
City to
pay tribute to Pakistan school victims
LIVERPOOL Town Hall, on
Friday, 19 December 2014, the victims of the Pakistan school tragedy
where remembered by the lowering of its flag, to half mast and the
lighting of a memorial candle. The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson
and Lord Mayor, Councillor Erica Kemp will was joined by President
of the Pakistan Association, in Liverpool, Mr Sarfraz Ali as they
lit a memorial candle at Liverpool Town Hall. Joining them and
offering the City's condolences to the victims' families where the
young Lord Mayor's along with many Civic Dignitaries; including the
Lord Lieutenant. There was also a 2 minute silence held as a mark of
respect before the Council's cabinet meeting took place on Friday,
19 December 2014. Before the event took place the Mayor of
Liverpool, Joe Anderson said:- "The events in the City of
Peshawar this week could not have failed to have an impact on
anyone. Attacks such as this on innocent victims are difficult to
understand and such huge loss of life seems even more tragic at this
time of year. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has
suffered in this dreadful event and I know the City of Liverpool
will join with me in sending our heartfelt sympathies to everyone
affected." Lord Mayor, Councillor Erica Kemp said:-
"This is a terrible tragedy and we would like to send a message to
all those who have lost a loved one that they are in our thoughts
and prayers. As both a mother and a former teacher this is an
unimaginable horror that you pray will never happen. I sincerely
hope they find some comfort in knowing they are not alone in their
grief."
Busy Christmas
sales for Church Square Shopping Centre
CANNY shoppers have handed
a busy run up to Christmas for St Helens retailers, says the boss of
the Town's main Shopping Centre. "People have spread out the
cost of their Christmas gift-buying over the last few weeks",
said Church Square Shopping Centre manager Steven Brogan. He then
added:- "It's very busy out here at the moment, and it seems
to have been that way since the start of November. People are
carrying lots of bags from our retailers, it's not just window
shopping. The feedback I've been getting is that shoppers have gone
out to buy a few presents each week, so the cost is spread out.
However, we are expecting a last minute rush over the weekend and
the final few days to Christmas, when people get their December pay
packets." Once store doors close on Christmas Eve, shop
staff will be getting ready for the start of the sales. "We
are now bracing ourselves for the Boxing Day sales, which start on
Friday, when people head out to pick up some bargains on their
doorstep." commented Steven. Church Square Shopping Centre
is open daily and home to a range of big name stores; such as BHS,
Boots, Roman Fashions and Superdrug; along with independent
retailers plus the busy St Mary's Market. More details on festive
opening times and special offers can be found on:-
ChurchSquareStHelens.co.uk.
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