It is the latest in a series of ‘blue-light’ projects for Willmott Dixon and follows the handover last month of a new HQ for Merseyside Police in the centre of Liverpool.

The scheme in Horsham at a site off the A24 at Highwood Mill was procured using the SCF framework for on behalf of West Sussex County Council.

Russell Miller, director at Willmott Dixon’s Crawley office, said key features of the project included a combined training tower and breathing apparatus facility, and a realistic live-fire training area. 

The high-tech premises will also include accommodation for new recruit training, an incident command training facility, realistic road traffic collision training area and rooms for digital simulations.

New facility will use renewable energy sources such as solar panels and air source heat pumps to provide heating, as well as electric vehicle charging points

Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said: “This is a fantastic commitment from the county council to the training and development of all of our staff, and one which is going to have an incredible impact upon our service. I cannot wait for work to begin to turn these plans into a fully functional fire station and training centre.”