EIR Request 2225

Subject: Winnington Lime Beds (Northwich)

Status: Complete

Date Received: September 2025

Question Asked:

I am making this request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). Please provide recorded information in response to the following questions concerning the Winnington Lime Beds site (Northwich).

1. Consultation and Involvement

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service been consulted by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC), TATA Chemicals, or any other party in relation to the Winnington Lime Beds site?

• If so, please provide copies of all consultation requests, responses, correspondence, or internal notes.

2. Contamination and Environmental Hazards

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service carried out or received any assessments of contamination, hazardous materials, landfill gas, or other environmental hazards at the Winnington Lime Beds?

• Please provide any risk assessments, reports, or recorded advice.

3. Fire Risk Assessments

• Has the Service undertaken or received any fire risk assessments relating to the site, including risks from historic industrial use, waste deposits, or contamination?

• If yes, please provide copies.

4. Emergency Response Planning

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service prepared or contributed to any emergency response plans for incidents at the Winnington Lime Beds?

• Please provide relevant documents, reports, or correspondence.

5. Civil Contingencies Act (Category 1 Duties)

• As a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service undertaken any risk assessments, contingency planning, or inter-agency exercises relating to the Winnington Lime Beds site?

• Please provide copies of any recorded information, reports, or communications that address these duties.

6. Inter-Agency Communication

• Please provide any recorded information showing communication between Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and:

  - Cheshire West and Chester Council, or

  - TATA Chemicals

  in relation to the Winnington Lime Beds site, particularly regarding fire safety, contamination, or environmental hazards.

Our Response:

Please see our response below to your Environmental Information Regulations Request.

1. Consultation and Involvement

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service been consulted by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC), TATA Chemicals, or any other party in relation to the Winnington Lime Beds site?

  No

• If so, please provide copies of all consultation requests, responses, correspondence, or internal notes.

  CFRS are active partners in the Local Resilience Forum and would be privy to any multi agency assessments carried out at this site, with information shared an exercised as necessary and correlated to risk. However, we are not in possession of any specific assessments for this location.

2. Contamination and Environmental Hazards

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service carried out or received any assessments of contamination, hazardous materials, landfill gas, or other environmental hazards at the Winnington Lime Beds?

  CFRS are active partners in the Local Resilience Forum and would be privy to any multi agency assessments carried out at this site, with information shared an exercised as necessary and correlated to risk. However, we are not in possession of any specific assessments for this location.

• Please provide any risk assessments, reports, or recorded advice.

  We are not in possession of any specific assessments for this location. However, any response to sites such as this would be covered in Standard Operating Procedure 6.4.0 Environmental Protection and the associated Generic Risk Assessment. CFRS also have a detailed policy for collation of site-specific risk information, which includes environmental impacts aligned with PORIS National Guidance. If a site scores highly enough during our inspection frequency, then a record is saved and made available to crews at an incident. In the event of an incident, CFRS would also have access to Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority Plans via the Local Resilience Forum.

3. Fire Risk Assessments

• Has the Service undertaken or received any fire risk assessments relating to the site, including risks from historic industrial use, waste deposits, or contamination?

  We are not in possession of any specific assessments for this location. However, CFRS are active partners in the Local Resilience Forum and would be privy to any multi agency assessments carried out at this site, with information shared an exercised as necessary and correlated to risk.

• If yes, please provide copies.

  N/A

4. Emergency Response Planning

• Has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service prepared or contributed to any emergency response plans for incidents at the Winnington Lime Beds?

  CFRS are active partners in the Local Resilience Forum and would be privy to any multi agency assessments carried out at this site, with information shared an exercised as necessary and correlated to risk. However, we are not in possession of any specific assessments for this location.

• Please provide relevant documents, reports, or correspondence.

  N/A

5. Civil Contingencies Act (Category 1 Duties)

• As a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, has Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service undertaken any risk assessments, contingency planning, or inter-agency exercises relating to the Winnington Lime Beds site?

  As detailed above, CFRS is an active member of the Local Resilience Forum and planning and exercising is based on a calculation of likelihood and risk.

• Please provide copies of any recorded information, reports, or communications that address these duties.

6. Inter-Agency Communication

• Please provide any recorded information showing communication between Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and:

  - Cheshire West and Chester Council, or

  - TATA Chemicals

  in relation to the Winnington Lime Beds site, particularly regarding fire safety, contamination, or environmental hazards.

  CFRS have 4 Site Specific Risk Information records which are produced jointly with TATA Chemicals. None of these detail Witton Lime Beds.

Outcome: Information Provided

FOI responded to within timescales: YES

Further action: NO