Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service is planning to build a state-of-the-art Training and Development Centre, marking a major investment and ensuring it continues to meet the standards of a modern-day Fire and Rescue Service.

It will help Firefighters train for hazardous situations they are likely to face, such as house fires, multi-story building rescues and motorway incidents.

The Service plans to build this new £7.6million facility on the site of a former Leicestershire County Council highways depot on the southern outskirts of Billesdon. It follows recent refurbishment works at Market Bosworth, Eastern and Western Fire and Rescue Stations, representing an important step forward for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service after years of careful planning to reach this stage.

The planned new centre will feature the latest equipment and advanced operational zones, developed in line with the latest recommendations from the Grenfell Tower public enquiry. This includes including a multi-story fire behaviour unit for various training exercises, an animal rescue area and a dedicated section for a mock motorway. These will offer Firefighters practical, scenario-based training that prepares them for a range of fire and rescue situations.

The training centre will also host modern welfare, lecture, and garaging facilities to support the needs of our crews, and will allow the existing Billesdon Station, originally built in 1962, to move to the updated site.

Billesdon residents recently attended an open evening at the current Billesdon Fire Station, where members of Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service explained further details about the planned development, and answered their questions about what the new facility will mean for the village.

Chief Fire Officer for Leicestershire Callum Faint said: "Our new Training and Development Centre will ensure we are as prepared for as many different, dynamic fire and rescue scenarios as possible both for now and the long-term future. This reflects our ongoing commitment to preventing incidents, limiting their impact, and responding in the right way and at the right time when we're needed across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland.

"Working closely with our partners, we have located a suitable brownfield site for the development on Gaulby Road in Billesdon. We have submitted a planning application to Harborough District Council, and if approved we hope to begin clearing this site in 2025, with construction starting soon after."

Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for resources at Leicestershire County Council which owns the brownfield site on Gaulby Road, said: "We're really pleased that Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service are aiming to turn this brownfield site that we no longer need into a first-class training facility.

"The money from this sale will go towards vital council services, benefiting Leicestershire residents and freeing up this land for a unique use.

"It's also been positive to see the proactive engagement undertaken with Billesdon residents to highlight the benefits that this development would bring to the Service and the impact upon the village."