Swindon, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire

Fire Safety Compliance & Maintenance in Calne

Fire risk assessments, fire alarm servicing, fire door inspections and security system maintenance for Calne's listed town centre, care homes and Porte Marsh industrial units, and for venues around Derry Hill and Cherhill.

Calne's centre was designated a conservation area in 1973 and now holds 147 listed buildings. Its industrial past shows in the Harris bacon factory site, redeveloped after the 1980s, and in the warehouse units of Porte Marsh on the northern side of town.

We reach Calne from our Hayes head office along the M4, then the A3102 into the town. IDS Global was established in 2011 and is a member of the IFSM and the FPA.

Businesses and buildings in Calne

The 2021 Census counted 19,074 people in Calne parish. Phelps Parade, a pedestrian shopping street off Wood Street, opened in 1973. Care providers include Marden Court on Quarr Barton, where the Care Quality Commission lists nursing, personal care and dementia care, and Kingston House at Derry Hill, which it lists for dementia care. Bowood, beside Derry Hill, combines a hotel, spa, golf, house and gardens, and offers venues for weddings and corporate meetings. Near Cherhill, the White Horse and the 1845 Lansdowne Monument stand on downs that the National Trust manages.

Porte Marsh Industrial Estate is the main employment area. An agent's listing calls it "a principal employment area in Calne with direct access to the A3102", and a 2015 trade report put the number of firms at about 100, in information technology and light industry. A unit on Clark Avenue is listed at 11,725 sq ft in two portal frame bays, including 474 sq ft of office space, and a Harris Road building is described as five warehouse units in steel portal frame with profiled steel cladding.

Fire Risk Assessments in Calne

The conservation area's listed stock includes the White Hart Hotel and the Lansdowne Arms Hotel with its former coach house, stable and brewhouse, both Grade II*. A hotel with outbuildings needs an assessment that follows people from the sleeping rooms to a place of safety and records how each outbuilding is used.

Conversions raise a different question. A 2021 report described plans to turn a stable block at Woodlands, the former Harris family house, into five apartments. When a building changes use, the assessment has to be reviewed and the person responsible for shared parts named.

Fire risk assessments

Fire Alarm Servicing in Calne

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service's maintenance guidance expects the panel to be inspected daily, a manual call point to be operated weekly, and a competent person to inspect the system six-monthly. For a care home such as Marden Court or Kingston House, we carry out the competent-person visit, test devices in every zone and record faults so the manager has a clear history.

At Porte Marsh each unit receives its own test record.

Fire alarm servicing

Fire Door Inspections in Calne

The service's guidance lists a monthly check that self-closing devices work and that seals and gaps are sound, with a six-monthly examination for damage, bowing or deformation.

We inspect door by door, photograph each defect and give a numbered schedule for repair.

Fire door inspections

CCTV and Intruder Alarm Maintenance in Calne

police.uk records for the Calne Town neighbourhood between August 2025 and July 2026 include 74 offences of criminal damage and arson, 35 of shoplifting, 18 burglaries and 14 vehicle crimes. The boundary was simplified for the query and police.uk anonymises locations, so the figures are approximate.

We maintain existing CCTV, intruder alarms and access control: camera views, recording, detector tests, batteries and door entry.

CCTV, intruder alarm and access control maintenance

Calne conservation area and the Heritage Quarter

A county history records that the centre of Calne was designated a conservation area in 1973, with boundary changes in 1983 and 1987. Historic England data shows 147 listed buildings inside it: one at Grade I, the Church of St Mary, twelve at Grade II* and 134 at Grade II. The Grade II* list includes Priestley's House, the Tounson Almshouses and the RAF Club.

Calne Town Hall on The Strand dates from 1886 and was listed at Grade II on 8 July 1976. Calne Town Council meets there.

The Harris factory site and Woodlands

C. & T. Harris (Calne) Ltd was formed in 1888. At its peak it employed 2,000 people. The factory was demolished between 1984 and 1986, and its six-acre site was redeveloped and now features a library, shops and houses beside the exposed River Marden. A regeneration project from 1991 to 2001 involved English Heritage, which considered it a model for small towns.

A July 2021 report said the Woodlands stable block would become five apartments, the coachman's cottage two cottages and the mansion site 11 homes. The cottage was part of a malthouse dating from 1758 and housed the town's fire engine in 1826.

Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan 2

The first Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan was made in 2018. Its review, covering 2023 to 2038, had an examiner's report received on 13 December 2024 and went to a referendum on 27 February 2025. The plan's documents page lists a Final Decision Statement from Wiltshire Council, design guidelines and codes, and topic papers on economic activity, retail and heritage.

The community nominated 72 potential locally valued heritage assets, and says the neighbourhood area has over 300 listed buildings.

Calne fire station and alarm calls

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service describes Calne as an on-call station, and its Calne page names Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey and Ramsbury as nearby stations. On 9 June 2024 a recycling centre fire at Compton Bassett, near Calne, drew about 30 firefighters at first, with crews from Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Marlborough, Corsham, Royal Wootton Bassett and Salisbury.

Since 1 April 2024 the service has stopped sending crews to alarm signals alone at low-risk commercial premises. Homes, other places where people sleep and identified higher-risk premises are still covered, as is any site where a 999 caller reports a fire.

Services available in Calne

Frequently asked questions

Which fire station covers Calne?

The service's Calne page describes on-call firefighters and lists Devizes, Marlborough, Pewsey and Ramsbury as nearby stations. Its station list says most of the 21 stations in the Wiltshire Council area are on-call. Our servicing reports give each Calne manager a dated record of every test.

Will crews attend an alarm at a Porte Marsh unit?

Not on the alarm alone where the premises are low-risk commercial ones. The service says such signals are no longer answered from 1 April 2024, and that the premises must investigate the cause. A 999 call reporting a fire still brings crews. We service the panel and log each activation.

How often should a care home alarm near Calne be tested?

The service's guidance sets a daily panel check, a weekly manual call point test that also proves the signal to a receiving centre, and a six-monthly inspection by a competent person. Marden Court and Kingston House are listed by the CQC as caring for people with dementia. We record faults by zone so the manager can see repeat problems.

Can you service alarms in a listed hotel or pub in Calne?

Yes. Servicing an existing system means testing and maintaining what is there. The conservation area includes two Grade II* hotels, and we recommend checking with Wiltshire Council before anything is fixed to a listed building. We leave bell boxes and cable runs as they are and report any faulty door, closer or detector for your decision.

Does the Calne neighbourhood plan affect work on an older building?

Possibly. The plan's documents include design guidelines and codes and a heritage topic paper, and the community nominated 72 potential local heritage assets. Wiltshire Council remains the planning authority. Routine servicing does not alter a building, but any proposed change to a historic one should be checked with the council first.