402 03 23 – Land Ownership & Use (April 2024)

Date of Request

March 24

Request

Dear Sir,

Please advise:

1. The estimated total number of acres of land that you own.

2. The estimated total number of acres that you own which are not in operational use.

3. The annual spending on managing and maintaining your property estate in the financial year 2022/23. Please provide a breakdown.

4. The number of empty homes you currently own.

5. The number of empty buildings you currently own that are not homes.

Please provide a copy of your asset register.

Best wishes,

Response

Good Morning,

Thank you for your request for information, which has been received by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (the Service) and considered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request.

The Service can confirm that the answers to your questions are as below:

1. The estimated total number of acres of land that you own:

The estimated total number of acres that we own is 17.71 acres. This includes all our sites including the site that is not in use and is currently on the market.


2. The estimated total number of acres that you own which are not in operational use.

We currently have one site that is not in use. This equates to 0.91 acres

3. The annual spending on managing and maintaining your property estate in the financial year 2022/23. Please provide a breakdown.

Please see Provisional Financial Outturn Report presented to the Fire Authority in June 2023 (section 9), specifically appendices 1-3 for financial year 2022/23:

FRA Agenda and Papers June 2023

4. The number of empty homes you currently own.

We do not own any homes that are not in use. We have several houses that have been converted for operational use.

5. The number of empty buildings you currently own that are not homes.

We currently own 24 fire stations, and a logistics building. Each site is a location and if there is a collection of the buildings on that site it will fall as one building.

If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact Information Governance and Committee Services on tel: 0345 122 4454 or by e-mail informationrequests@hwfire.org.uk. In any such communication please include the reference number assigned (see Subject).

Should you have any queries regarding the management of your request and wish to make either a complaint or request a review of the information disclosed to you, please do so by using Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s complaints system: Comments and Complaints. This must be done within 40 working days of our response to your request. After this date and in line with ICO guidance the Service is not obliged to provide an internal review of your request.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may appeal the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 (alternatively 01625 545745) or E-mail: casework@ico.org.uk.

Further information on Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service may be viewed at the Service’s website: www.hwfire.org.uk

Thank you for your request for information.

Kind regards

Information Governance Team