PLANS for a major overhaul and extension of Malvern fire station have been sent back to the drawing board.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service wants to bring the building in Worcester Road, Malvern Link, up to modern standards and ensure it is fit for purpose.

However its application to replace the building’s unusual triangular prism construction with a more traditional rectangular building, with a flat roof, has been dismissed by planners at Malvern Hills District Council .

Duncan Rudge, Malvern Hills District Council planning control manager, ruled the extension would be out of keeping with the character of the building, would be unduly prominent and would not preserve or enhance the appearance and character of the local conservation area.

Ward member and council chairman Paul Tuthill, who described the plans as “generic” and “essentially a box with a glass front” when they were submitted, believes significant alterations need to be made to find a suitable solution.

He said: “Our planners are meeting with the fire service and hopefully we can come up with a design that is sympathetic to the conservation area and takes its queues from the new hospital, the work being planned for the railway station next door and the Churchill retirement complex on the other side. It is quite an emotive building so I also think it needs to come to a public planning meeting for a decision, and I have also said that it would be beneficial to hold public information sessions once there is a final design.”

The fire service believes the station, built in 1986, is no longer fit for purpose and upgrading it would enhance training facilities, reduce running costs and deliver an improved carbon footprint.

Had the initial application been approved, work was due to start in September and take 12 months to complete, with fire engines and staff moving to the nearby operational logistics site in Betony Road.

Alan Jones, capital projects manager at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are currently working with the planning department in order to put forward a design that hopefully will be approved in the near future.”