New Kettering fire station plans submitted for multi-million pound 'modern' and 'fit-for-purpose' out-of-town facility
Plans for a multi-million pound 'modern' and 'fit-for-purpose' out-of-town replacement Kettering fire station have been submitted to North Northants Council (NNC).
If approved, the new three-storey fire station, storage building and four-storey fire training tower would replace the existing base in Headlands – relocating to a site off the A43 ‘hamburger’ roundabout on the outskirts of Kettering towards Corby.
The new purpose-built station proposed for Cherry Hall Road would be located next to the joint Fire and Police Northern Accommodation Building (NAB) and Weekley Woods Justice Centre.
Plans have been submitted on behalf of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) and Northamptonshire’s office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) headed by commissioner Danielle Stone.
It is not known the cost of the new station, but a similar scheme for the proposed replacement Moulton Fire Station was given a £17m price tag.
A spokesman for NFRS said: “The planning application for a brand-new fire station in Kettering is now live and, if approved, would deliver modern and fit-for-purpose facilities for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service’s firefighters.
"If permission is granted, this new facility would replace the current station on the Headlands, which has been in use since 1955. While the existing site has served the community for many years, it no longer meets the demands of modern firefighting. Access and parking challenges at the Headlands can delay emergency response, and the building itself falls short of current standards for working conditions and crew welfare.”
As well as housing firefighters and their equipment, the new purpose-built station will provide offices for up to 68 members of staff, a 203-square-metre storage building and a four-storey fire training tower and facilities to support ‘operational readiness’.
Planning documents state the development would adopt ‘a contemporary and functional design, incorporating a combination of materials to achieve both aesthetic appeal and practicality’.
The planned complex would back on to the much-battled-for Weekley Hall Woods area on an area of grass and scrubland found to provide ‘quality habitat for several protected species’.
However, the planning report concludes that the application site lies within the ‘impact risk zone of the River Ise and Meadows SSSI’ but states ‘the proposed works to do not meet any of the criteria for consultation with Natural England’.
The live planning application for the new Kettering fire station can be viewed on the North Northamptonshire Council planning portal under reference number 25/00807/FUL.
Planners received the application on May 22, 2025 and it was validated three months later on August 22.