Campaigners are calling for Bath’s art deco fire station to be made a listed building as plans are under way to knock it down.

Bath fire station on Bathwick Street | Photo © Bath Echo
Opened in 1939, the site in Bath has been a working fire station for almost ninety years and is one of Avon Fire & Rescue Service’s oldest.
Now firefighters have warned the building needs to be demolished to make way for a facility which can meet the demands of modern firefighting.
But the Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns to protect “outstanding” architecture from after 1914, has called for the building to be saved, and has now submitted an application to Historic England to have the fire station listed.
Head of casework Coco Whittaker said: “In a city that’s not short of architectural heritage, the Bath fire station is a classically beautiful 1930s building with a rich history of its own.
“We simply cannot allow a building of this quality to be demolished: it should either be sympathetically modernised to meet the needs of the fire service, or adapted for some other use, as many other historic former stations have successfully been.”
Alfred J Taylor began designing the fire station in 1937 but after his death in 1938, his daughter Molly Taylor, the architect behind Kilowatt House, took over the project.
The Twentieth Century Society said that Ms Taylor was practising at a time when there were very few women architects and her involvement adds “considerable historic interest” to the fire station.
Announcing Avon Fire & Rescue Service’s plans to replace the building, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Luke Gazzard said in December: “The new fire station will help ensure we can better serve the local community, accommodate crews and modernise this part of the service.
“Adhering to our aim of making our communities safer and our service stronger, the state-of-the-art facility aims to help improve response, operational efficiency and prevention work which will benefit our staff, as well as the communities we serve.”
The station is located on Bathwick Street, just south of Cleveland Bridge. It is crewed by wholetime and on-call firefighters, and is home to business fire safety officers and support staff.
Plans for the redevelopment of the fire station are due to be submitted this year. If approved, Bath firefighters will relocate to a temporary location while the new station is built.
Built in Bath stone, the current building has five appliance bays between stylised Doric pilasters with fluted capitals, with a stepped architrave running over the doors, and a relief carving of the coat of arms of the city of Bath and a cornice above.
Internally, original tiled finishes, parquet flooring and moulded architraves are believed by the Twentieth Century Society to still survive in-situ.
Head of estates at Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Patrick Hollins, said in December: “We are still in the early stages of the programme and are working closely with firefighters and staff at Bath to help inform the design proposals of the new building, making sure it supports the needs of modern-day firefighting and enhances service delivery to the area.
“As one of the Service’s oldest fire stations and based in the heart of the city, we understand the importance of having a presence at the same location and value the input of the community.
“During the consultation, and through regular updates and events, we will keep the community informed of the project’s progress and provide the opportunity for people to share their feedback.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter