Fire chiefs suffer further setback as new £19m HQ fails to deliver as energy saver

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue moved into a new HQ in Sheffield in March 2009 and before it was complete ambitions were high that its specialist construction would help reduce the service’s carbon footprint. But a new report reveals the building in Eyre Street is eating up electricity at a much higher rate than anticipated, leading to disappointing results in a recent audit of the brigade’s environmental impact.

So far, the brigade has been unable to work out why consumption is so high. When plans for the building were announced in early 2007, chief fire officer Mark Smitherman said the headquarters would include a “number of environmentally friendly features”.

The aspiration was that the brigade would be able to reduce carbon emissions by 10 per cent but a new report reveals the brigade’s carbon footprint has actually increased by almost eight per cent, with the new building contributing to that.

Last night the brigade said its former HQ in Wellington Street, which has now been demolished, had a lower energy requirement because it had been linked to the city’s district energy network, powered by Sheffield’s refuse incinerator. A spokesman said: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and green measures were a key consideration when working with specialist environmental consultants on the HQ design. However, we have future-proofed the building to connect to the district energy network should it be extended, and are continuing to build energy saving measures into all our projects.”

The carbon footprint shock comes as the latest setback for the brigade headquarters, which was subject to a series of problems during construction, leading to it opening later than scheduled.

Friends of the Earth’s Yorkshire and Humber campaigner Simon Bowens said: “It’s disappointing that South Yorkshire Fire Service’s carbon footprint has gone up – but we’re pleased that they are developing plans to cut it.”

Comment: Page 10.