Penrith Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) and the Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit (COMRU) submitted plans in November to Westmorland and Furness Council in a joint venture between Penrith Mountain Rescue Team and the Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit to build a new operating base and rescue hub in Penrith.
The new base will create a bespoke training, storage and garage facility, providing a hub for both teams’ operations in northeastern Cumbria, and across the wider county. This planning submission also trigger a major fundraising drive to secure the £1.8m that realising the project requires.
Penrith Mountain Rescue Team has been working hard to secure a new operational base, to be shared with COMRU, having comprehensively outgrown its current base, surrounded by residential properties on Tynefield Drive, in Penrith.
Two years ago, the team purchased a suitable plot of land – off Cowper Road, on Eden Business Park on the western side of the town.
Working with 2030 Architects Ltd who designed Voreda House in Penrith, a design for the new shared base was developed around the operational requirements of the two teams, including vehicle and equipment storage, training space, an energy-efficient drying room and meeting rooms. This design, along with car parking space and landscaping, has now been approved by planning officers at Westmorland & Furness Council.
COMRU – which operates county-wide - does not currently have an operating base, storing equipment and vehicles at members’ houses, outbuildings and premises. The project will provide two garage bays to protect the team’s two Unimog vehicles from the weather and secure the team’s operations in years to come.
Penrith Team Leader Peter King said: “This long awaited milestone marks the beginning of a concerted campaign to raise the necessary construction funds. The team, a registered charity entirely run by volunteers, depends on donations and fundraising for income and, together with our COMRU colleagues, must raise all of the required funds for the new base by their own efforts. The team would like to thank the community and partner organisations for all the support received over many years, which enabled us to purchase the land and now enables us to be optimistic about replacing our current, outgrown base.”
Chris Jones, COMRU’s Team Leader, added: “This is a very exciting time for COMRU to have the prospect of a centralised location from which to train and operate. We recently hosted the national cave rescue conference up at Nenthead mines near Alston and we frequently train in this part of Cumbria. Our Unimog vehicles will already be familiar to supporters in Penrith as in the past we’ve displayed them at GoOutdoors and raised awareness of COMRU and its specialised role.”
Revised plans were submitted in January clarifying the building cladding colours along with security fencing, lighting and cctv plans.
Planning officer for the council said “The proposed building would complement the general character and appearance of thearea in terms of its scale, form and massing, external appearance and associated works
including as part of the emerging and established business park environment.”
“It is considered that the distinctive colour scheme used as part of the identity of the building beings used by the rescue and search bodies specified, that in this location, the use of the proposed materials is acceptable.
The plans for the new rescue hub include the use on part of the building of Poppy Red cladding, trims and window frames which will make the building fairly distinctive.
The planning officer added “The use of the red cladding on the full height corner part of the north and west elevations, trims and window elements is to emphasise the use of the building by emergency services for local search and rescue and the mines rescue service. The use of colour will add to the distinctiveness of the building although there is no requirement for visitors or members of the public to be able to find this building quickly; it is used as a base for rescue activities.”
“Having regard to the use of red cladding/trims and window feature, given that the building is to be used as the main HQ and recognising the importance of the services to be operated from the site; that the location of the building will be set back between other approved or existing buildings with limited and fleeting glimpses from public views and the M6 or from more distant views from for example, Beacon Hill; that in these circumstances the use of Poppy Red cladding on the elevation and all trims and edgings of the building is considered acceptable with limited impact on the wider landscape.”
Penrith Mountain Rescue Team has 36 members, all of whom are volunteers and are available 24/7 for 365 days a year.
In the first ten months of 2024 the Team responded to 42 call outs. Its ability to operate relies on donations and fundraising initiatives.
The area covered by the Penrith Mountain Rescue Team extends from the Far Eastern Fells of the Lake District around Haweswater, across to the North Pennines and Cross Fell, and all the way up to the Scottish border, accounting for about 1600sq miles.
Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit is a specialist team providing assistance to those in difficulty underground. Its remit extends to abandoned mine workings, natural caves, and subterranean man-made structures.
It has 35 members, all of whom are volunteers. They are available 24/7 for 365 days a year. The Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit is a charity and its ability to operate relies on donations and fundraising initiatives.
The area covered is primarily Cumbria and additionally the team provides operational support to adjoining regions including Teesdale, Weardale, County Durham, the Isle of Man, and southern Scotland.
The two teams have said they would welcome approaches from any individuals, businesses or organisations interested in partnering over the construction of the new base, donating funds or supporting in kind in any way.
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