Go-ahead sealed for 94,000 sq ft Sheffield ambulance hub
Council officers have rubber-stamped the conversion of an Attercliffe office building into a base for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, which will consolidate from locations around the city.
The Amberley Street building in Attercliffe was previously occupied by business services outsourcer Webhelp, which last occupied the space in 2020.
A decision notice has now been issued to YAS’s advisor Stem Architects.
As set out in Stem’s planning statement, the 1 Amberley Street block is accessed via Janson Street and Bold Street, and was built in the mid-1990s.
YAS wants to convert the existing building to form a new ambulance hub that will include staff changing rooms, relaxation and refreshment areas as well as management offices, training facilities, clinical hub and meeting rooms.
In addition, the building will provide garage facilities for ambulance vehicle preparation and fleet including storerooms for stock, equipment and cleaning materials.
YAS currently has three ambulance stations within Sheffield, at Batemoor, Longley, and Middlewood, with additional workshop facilities elsewhere in the city.
Stem said that the existing stations need expansion to meet the future requirements of a modern ambulance service, while the workshop provision is also in need of modernisation to comply with updated regulations.
A new facility at Amberley Street would provide a relatively central location, and could accommodate A&E staff currently operating out of existing stations, as well as the A&E operations leadership team, currently based in a separate office building.
Patient transfer services alongside academy staff who deliver training for staff will also be moved into the new central Sheffield Ambulance Hub.
Stem said: “By bringing staff from currently separated stations together into one central site and within a suitable modern building there is an opportunity to introduce operational improvements, improve scheduling, increase availability and improve staff morale, retention and recruitment.
“Although Sheffield will maintain the same number of ambulance resources, the proposed changes to operations aim to increase efficiency, support improved response times and benefit patients, overall improving services for the people of Sheffield.”
There are 300 parking spaces at the site, 12 of them disability access.
Documents relating to the project can be seen on Sheffield City Council’s planning portal, reference 26/01600/FUL.
