Made possible by an investment of £325,000 by the business and its parent company, JTL, the artificial street will ‘launch’ this spring, providing training in emergency response to gas incidents, as well as excavation safety, cable avoidance, sewer jetting, and confined space entry. Located next to Develop Training’s York training centre in Huby, the site will comprise purpose-built houses, apartments, a café, and a confined spaces area, and will offer free use to the North Yorkshire emergency services for training purposes. An online competition to name the street will be taking place from 12 January to 28 February, with entrants asked to suggest up to three names for the street before a judging panel determines a winning name.
John Kerr, managing director at Develop Training (pictured), said: “This is one of our most ambitious projects to date. This build, which can be likened to a set used for TV and film productions, will provide us with an invaluable base to provide new standards in technical safety training. The foundation of our training is in creating skills for real-world application, and this new street will serve only to strengthen that base. Opportunities to support local communities are of huge importance to us, and we’re excited to witness a variety of people benefit from the use of these new facilities.”