TWO new emergency service stations will be built in County Durham thanks to a successful bid for a share of a £75m government fund.

The region has been awarded almost £4m to develop and improve frontline public services, it was recently announced.

Initial plans outline new joint emergency services stations at Barnard Castle and Durham City, with plans for Barnard Castle to house the local Mountain Rescue Team making the shared site the first Quad-Service in the country.

Barnard Castle town mayor, John Blissett, said: “Personally, I think it’s an excellent idea, and something that should have been done a long time ago.

“It makes sense to have all of the services in one place, this won’t only benefit the people of Barnard Castle, but people throughout Teesdale.”

On Friday, Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt announced the winners of the Fire Transformation Fund, set to save taxpayers more than £300m.

She said: “Fire services have done an amazing job over the last few years in reducing demand on their emergency services, there are fewer fires and deaths.

“This means the service needs to adapt to meet new demands and to ensure it is working in the most efficient way. That’s why we’ve set up the Fire Transformation Fund.”

In total, 37 projects from across the country have been allocated funding.

The Fire Minister added: “One of the things that I found encouraging was the high number of bids looking to promote greater collaboration with other emergency services through sharing stations and services, sharing of back office functions, and joining up on service delivery.

“This is exactly the sort of innovation that is needed across the public sector and I look forward to seeing how these projects progress.”

Barnard Castle deputy town mayor, Sandra Moorhouse, added: “I think with all of the upheaval that there seems to be with our emergency services at the moment this is an excellent idea to pursue.

“Barnard Castle will be a great place for the new station to be based and it will be good to have multiple services covering the dales and the surrounding area from within the town.”