Liberec changed its zoning plan, which will allow the construction of an ambulance headquarters

Liberec - Today, the Liberec city council approved a partial amendment to the zoning plan concerning the area near the quarry below the Králův háj housing estate. The change will allow the construction of a new regional headquarters for the emergency service with a dispatch base. Mayor Jaroslav Zámečník (Mayors for the Liberec Region) told ČTK that the intention is to donate the city land, estimated to be worth ten million crowns, to the region. However, the city also wants to receive the current premises of the emergency service on Husova Street in Liberec as a gift.

According to the mayor, negotiations in this regard have not yet progressed significantly. "This will become relevant only when at least a sketch (of the new headquarters) from the architects is prepared. So far, we have an approved memorandum with the region, the intention to donate our land, and the amendment to the zoning plan," the mayor added.

The Liberec Region has long been searching for land in Liberec for the construction of a new dispatch center for the emergency service, which would also include a dispatch office, repair shop, and training center for the ambulance service. The current facilities no longer meet the needs of the rescuers. A plot of land near the intersection of Jablonecká and Kunratická streets has proven to be suitable. The site is less than two kilometers from the Liberec hospital and the busy I/14 connection between Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou. It is also outside the most congested center.

The design of the emergency service facility will be decided by an architectural competition. However, it will not be the only new construction that is expected to improve conditions for rescuers. The region plans to invest an estimated 700 million crowns in the modernization and construction of stations in the coming years, with about half of that going towards the new regional headquarters. New dispatch stations are expected to gradually be established in Frýdlant, Jablonec nad Nisou, Hrádek nad Nisou, Turnov, Doksy, and Jablonné in Podještědí. The region aims to obtain grants from European funds for these projects.

The emergency service of the Liberec Region has dispatch bases spread across 13 cities, with two bases in Liberec, the second one located at the airport. Annually, rescuers respond to more than 60,000 cases in the region.