Swindon, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire

Fire Safety Compliance & Maintenance in Cricklade

Fire risk assessments, fire alarm servicing, security maintenance and alarm monitoring for the schools, landlords, industrial occupiers and community buildings of Cricklade, Latton and Ashton Keynes.

Cricklade is the northernmost town in Wiltshire and the first downstream town on the Thames, founded as a fortified town around 880. The 2021 Census counted 4,253 people. Its industrial estate at Chelworth was built outside a former airfield in the late 1950s.

We reach Cricklade from our Hayes head office along the M4 and A419. IDS Global was established in 2011 and is a member of the IFSM and the FPA.

Businesses and buildings in Cricklade

The town's buildings range from a Grade I church with Anglo-Saxon stonework to Ockwell's Glove Factory, a limestone rubble building completed in 1861 and listed at Grade II in 1976. It now houses the town council offices, a library, a doctor's surgery and a tourist information centre. Two schools add larger occupancies: Cricklade Manor Prep, an independent school on Calcutt Street that GOV.UK records as having 255 pupils aged 2 to 11, and St Sampson's Church of England Primary on Bath Road, a voluntary controlled school with 282 pupils aged 4 to 11. Latton, 1.5 miles north of the town, had 548 residents in 2011. Ashton Keynes, with 1,426 residents in 2021, sits inside the Cotswold Water Park and has a community-owned pub and shop.

Commercial space is concentrated at Chelworth. The Victoria County History says the industrial estate was erected outside the former RAF Blakehill Farm airfield and was enlarged on both sides of Braydon Lane. An agent's listing for Unit 2 describes steel portal frame construction under a galvanised steel insulated roof, a minimum eaves height of 5.5 metres and offices finished with tiled floors and suspended ceilings, in a unit of between 4,151 and 7,329 sq ft. Zoopla also lists Chelworth Park on Chelworth Road, with industrial units and yard areas.

Fire Risk Assessments in Cricklade

Ockwell's Glove Factory shows what a single address can involve: council offices, a library, a surgery and a tourist information centre under one roof, each with its own occupants and opening hours. A sound assessment looks at every use, then at how they affect one another and who is responsible for the shared routes.

For school buildings, church halls and High Street premises we record the people present, the escape routes and the fire doors, and rank the actions.

Fire risk assessments

Fire Alarm Servicing in Cricklade

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service says investigating an automatic alarm is the premises' own responsibility, so the occupier of a Chelworth unit needs to know quickly whether a signal was a real fire or a faulty device. Each visit leaves a zone-by-zone test record and a list of faults.

Fire alarm servicing

CCTV and Intruder Alarm Maintenance in Cricklade

Industrial yards and village premises depend on equipment that works on the night it is needed. We maintain existing CCTV, intruder alarms, access control and gates: camera views and recording, detector tests, batteries, door entry and gate safety devices.

CCTV, intruder alarm and access control maintenance

Alarm Monitoring in Cricklade

Where the fire service does not attend an alarm signal at a low-risk commercial site, someone else has to respond. A monitoring connection passes the signal to a named keyholder who can check the building and call 999 if there is a fire.

Alarm monitoring

Saxon burh, St Sampson's and the High Street

Cricklade is one of 30 burhs recorded in the Burghal Hidage, built around 878 to 879 to defend Wessex against the Vikings, and it had a royal mint from 979 to 1100. There are signs that streets were laid out in a regular fashion behind the main north to south High Street. St Sampson's Church is Grade I listed, with Anglo-Saxon stonework in its south wall and a tower completed in the 1550s. A 14th century town cross in the churchyard, moved from the High Street around 1817 to 1820, is listed Grade II*.

St Mary's Church is Grade II* and has been used for Roman Catholic worship since 1984. Servicing in buildings like these means testing and maintaining the equipment already there and reporting defects. Anything proposed on a listed fabric should be checked with Wiltshire Council first.

North Meadow and the Thames floodplain

North Meadow National Nature Reserve lies between the Thames and the Churn. Around 80% of Britain's snake's head fritillaries grow there, and about 500,000 flower each year. The land is grazed in common between 12 August and 12 February and cut for hay no earlier than 1 July, and the Court Leet, the Saxon system of town governance, kept it held in common. Regular winter flooding created the habitat.

In February 2021 the Court Leet reported the meadow completely underwater, after winter rainfall from mid-September 2020 that was 30% above the average of the preceding decade. A river level site records the highest Thames level at Cricklade as 1.03 metres, reached on 26 November 2024. We include low-level devices, panels and cable runs in winter servicing visits at premises near the river.

Cricklade fire station and an A419 trailer fire

The service's Cricklade page describes it as a co-responder station. Its station list says most of the 21 stations in the Wiltshire Council area are on-call. On 13 July 2026 crews from Stratton, Cricklade and Royal Wootton Bassett attended a fire in a large trailer carrying about 20 tonnes of electrical materials on the A419 near Calcutt. The northbound carriageway was closed.

From 1 April 2024 the service has not sent crews to alarm signals from low-risk commercial premises. It does attend homes, other places where people sleep, identified higher risk premises and any site where a 999 call reports a fire.

Recorded crime around Cricklade and Ashton Keynes

We counted police.uk street-level crimes inside two Wiltshire Police neighbourhood boundaries for August 2025 to July 2026. The boundaries were simplified to fit the query and police.uk anonymises locations, so the figures are approximate. Cricklade and Purton recorded about 541 crimes, including 22 shoplifting offences, 15 vehicle crimes and 10 burglaries. Ashton Keynes and Minety recorded about 174, including 16 burglaries and 6 vehicle crimes. Both boundaries also cover neighbouring villages.

Services available in Cricklade

Frequently asked questions

Will the fire service attend an alarm at a Chelworth unit?

Not on the signal alone if the unit is a low-risk commercial premises. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has not sent crews to such alarms since 1 April 2024 and says the premises must investigate the cause. A 999 call reporting a fire still brings crews. Agree who checks the panel, who calls 999 and who holds the keys.

Does Cricklade have its own fire station?

Yes. The service lists Cricklade among the stations in the Wiltshire Council area and describes it as a co-responder station. On 13 July 2026 its crew was one of three at the A419 trailer fire near Calcutt.

Can you service alarms and extinguishers in a listed church or hall in Cricklade?

Yes. Servicing works on the equipment already in place. St Sampson's Church is Grade I listed and St Mary's is Grade II*. We test devices, check extinguishers and report faulty doors or detectors for your decision. Before anything is fixed to a listed building, check with Wiltshire Council.

Does flooding near the Thames change how a site should be serviced?

It is a reason to look at low-level equipment. North Meadow was completely underwater in February 2021, and a river level site records a Thames high of 1.03 metres at Cricklade on 26 November 2024. After wet winters we check panels, detectors, sounders and cable runs near the ground, and test the system before you rely on it.