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A future Joint Fire and Ambulance Station will be named after Len Norman, the widely respected politician who recently passed away.
The longstanding States Member, who held every elected title in the Chamber, was Home Affairs Minister when he died on 1 June and the naming of the yet-to-be-finalised combined headquarters was announced by his ministerial successor, Deputy Gregory Guida, yesterday, on the day he was appointed.
Paying tribute to his predecessor, Deputy Guida said he had had hoped and prayed that his “friend and mentor” would have overcome his serious illness but “nature followed its course and here we are today, trying to fill some very large shoes."
Talking about the Home Affairs role, the Deputy said: “Len loved this position and he was uniquely suited to it, and it is sad that he found this role so late in his career. Fortunately, he was also happy to share it and we worked very closely together in the last three years.”
Many of the details of the Joint Fire and Ambulance Station are yet to be decided but it remains an objective of the Justice and Home Affairs Department and its new Minister.
Pictured: Justice and Home Affairs argue that the Rouge Bouillon site provides the best response times for emergencies.
JHA’s published business plan for 2021 states: “We will continue to develop the business case during 2021 for a new Ambulance, Fire & Rescue station, following exploration of the potential options for the current Fire & Rescue site, with a view to commencing work in 2022.”
It adds that “site selection, full feasibility study, and updated business case for the construction of a new headquarters” will completed by the end of this year.
Where it will be built remains uncertain. JHA want it to go on the site of the current Fire Station at Rouge Bouillon, however, the States Assembly is being asked to keep that space for next-door Rouge Bouillon Primary School.
Pictured: Deputy Gregory Guida was yesterday appointed Home Affairs Minister.
Earlier this year, JHA Director General Julian Blazeby told Scrutiny that a study of emergency vehicle response times made Rouge Bouillon the optimum site for the joint headquarters.
However, St Helier Deputy Inna Gardiner is proposing that it is ring-fenced for Education.
Last year, Rouge Bouillon’s headteacher, Russell Price, wrote a letter to the Public Accounts Committee, which Deputy Gardiner now chairs, highlighting the inadequacies of the current facilities.
Andium Homes has also earmarked the site as suitable for social housing.
Deputy Guida said that JHA will wait for an Education Department review of its property estate before before committing to any site.
Express recently reflected on Len Norman's lifetime of public service in a recent podcast interview with his brother, Les:
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