Leicestershire Police Federation announce exciting arrival of Welfare Van

15 November 2022

Leicestershire Police Federation announce exciting arrival of Welfare Van

Leicestershire Police Federation is excited to announce the arrival of our new Welfare Van.

The new van has a fully heated seating area with access to a fridge, microwave and hot water boiler and numerous 240V sockets as well as some USB connections. In the rear is a heated storage area with more power sockets, and a toilet and hand wash area. There is a retractable canopy and full side awnings along with external lighting.

The van is a replacement for our previous vehicle, which has been invaluable, but given the commitment of other Branches in the country to investing in newer vehicles with better facilities, we felt it was time for a serious upgrade.

Chairman Adam Commons explains: “Our previous vehicle has served us very well, but given its age and the way it was built it was becoming a challenge to keep up with repairs as welfare vans are quite a limited and specialised field.

“When I became Chair it was one of my priorities to get us a vehicle that was designed and built from the ground up to a specification that would be an investment for the Branch and serve us for years to come.

“I was quite envious of the van which North Wales Federation had bought at the time and so spoke with their Secretary, Mark Jones, about the process he had gone through.

“What followed was torturous!

“I had to find companies who could not only do the conversion, but if possible, source the vehicle as it makes for a smoother process. I then had design meetings to plan what I’d like on board making sure it was future proofed, before getting to quotation stage and then the preferred contractor.

“Then of course I had to find the money and we are lucky having both the Group Insurance and Medical Schemes as there was an opportunity to split the cost as we will also use the van for engagement with our members when we use it as a mobile office. I finally presented the plans to our Federation Council in June 2021 and it was approved by everyone at the meeting.

“We have had a long delay following that owing to the worldwide issues with vehicle production and some teething problems but now that we have it, I’m absolutely delighted. I also need to thank Lucy Stokes at Cartwright Vehicle Conversions who was always at the end of the phone or email making sure we got the van as soon as possible.

It has been officially opened this by Chief Constable Rob Nixon who has been very supportive of the project and has put the vehicle on the Force insurance so that it can be deployed by any staff members.

Adam added: “The Chief has been brilliant, he’s very supportive of welfare matters across the force and when I told him about the new vehicle he didn’t hesitate to help and that’s why I asked him to help us launch it.”

Chief Constable Rob Nixon said: “On behalf of the Force I’d like to say the partnership between ourselves and the Federation and the acquisition of the new van is tremendous. It will provide first class support to officers on the frontline when they need it. Personally, from me to the Federation thank you, we have a great relationship, and thanks to Adam for getting the van sorted”.

The first official deployment will be at the annual Elf Run at Force Headquarters on November 29^th.