A project to integrate ambulance, fire and police services at the soon to be constructed Hayle Community Fire Station has been successful in a bid for transformational funding.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has announced that Cornwall Council has been awarded a share of a £6.9 million for looking at ways to radically overhaul how they do business.

Cornwall Council cabinet member for homes and communities Geoff Brown said: “I am delighted that the inspirational work of CFRS has again been recognised nationally. The Hayle blue light scheme will see real co-location of emergency services in a modern purpose built facility. Not only will this scheme save money and help to protect frontline teams, more importantly it will give the general public a much improved level of service.”

The co-location project has been awarded £100,000 to progress plans for the integration of ambulance, fire and police and to "support the work being undertaken to explore the benefits of collaboration to transform the way in which these emergency services work together to improve the service provided to the community of Hayle".

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Des Tidbury said: “This latest development is great news for the service as it gives us the opportunity to explore the co-location of all three blue light services which has the potential to deliver additional improvements for our communities.

"We have effective partnerships already in place between the services, for example our co-responding scheme with SWASFT and our Anti-Social Behaviour work with DCP. This project will build on this, focusing in year one on joint working, using intelligence to inform local initiatives, and expanding this in year two to explore the development of an integrated Community Safety Operative role.”

The Hayle project forms one part of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service’s wider Camborne, Pool, Redruth and Hayle (CPRH) Emergency Cover programme which took a major step forward recently when planning permission was granted for a new Camborne, Pool and Redruth Community Fire Station and Service Headquarters at Tolvaddon and a new community fire station at Hayle.