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Post War - N.F.S. and County Brigades
As the war drew to its close there was much debate in the Broadway area, as there was throughout the country, and in Government, about the future organisation of the fire service.
The Evesham Rural District Council supported a return to either a county or district controlled fire service. The Evesham Borough Council seems to have favoured the retention of the National Fire Service (N.F.S.). At a meeting of that Council it was agreed that it would be, ‘an absolute disaster’ to go back to the old borough brigade with all the arguments about where they should, and should not, attend fires; ‘The National Fire Service is a very fine thing’ they concluded.
The National Fire Service continued to run all the nation’s fire brigades, so it was they who, in May 1946, approached Broadway Parish Council. They asked whether the Council would be willing to make some of their land available for an extension to the fire station. The National Fire Service was anxious to provide the Broadway brigade with an up to date vehicle to haul their trailer pump, but the fire station was too small to house both the pump and a towing vehicle. The pump was, at this time, still being stationed at Charles Steward's premises, as it had been during the war, and his lorry was still being used to haul it to fires, as it had for the last twenty or so years. Unfortunately Mr Steward now needed the space the pump was taking up for his building business. The N.F.S. required a piece of land, 12' wide and 19' long, to build an extension at the rear of the existing station.
The Parish Council readily agreed but insisted that the extension should be built in stone, and not, as the N.F.S. wanted, in brick coloured as stone. The estimates received for a stone structure were considered too expensive by the N.F.S., so they suggested 4½" brickwork rendered with cement as a cheaper alternative. After exchanging a number of letters with the N.F.S., the Parish Council finally agreed to allow the extension to be built of brick, but then raised the question of rent. They considered the new extension should become the property the Parish Council and, therefore, they should receive rent from the N.F.S. for its use. The N.F.S. would not express an opinion on the subject of ownership, and after nearly a year of disagreement they decided not to extend the station. The reason given for the decision not to proceed was the high cost of the work. But, in any case, Government plans were, by then, well under way to disband the National Fire Service, and transfer responsibility for fire fighting to county councils.

An Auxillary Towing Vehicle (ATV) similar the the one in use at Broadway during the 1950s & 60s
The 1947 Fire Brigades Act, given Royal Assent on 31st July 1947, made county councils responsible for providing fire cover. So on 1st April 1948, the day the Act came into force, Broadway's fire station became Station 10b of the Worcester City & County Fire Brigade. Evesham fire station became Station 10, and the stations at Broadway and Pebworth (Station 10a) were considered sub stations of Evesham station.
Ownership of the Fire Station
The question of ownership of the fire station was raised again in May 1950 when Broadway Parish Council requested £3 back rent (£1 per year 1947-49) from The Worcester City & County Fire Brigade. The County Brigade was surprised to receive such a request, as they considered they owned the station. They were of the opinion that ownership of Broadway fire station had automatically passed from the Parish Council to the Rural District Council under the Fire Brigades Act 1938, and then on to the County Council under the Fire Brigades Act 1947. The Parish Council members, on the other hand, believed the station still belonged to the parish of Broadway. It was understandable they should hold that opinion, because when the Evesham and Pershore Rural District Councils had taken over responsibility for running the Broadway brigade in 1933, it was a specific condition of the agreement between the District and Parish councils that the fire station would remain parish property, and could not be surrendered to any other organisation. Also, when the 1938 Act came into force no compensation had been paid, as it should have been, to Broadway Parish Council by the Rural District Council for the fire station.
The late Isaac Averill had given the land on which the fire station stood, as a gift, to the village in 1897. But unfortunately, when this dispute arose in 1950, the ‘Deed of Gift’ could not be found. Had it been available it is unclear whether it would have made any difference to the outcome of the case. (The 'Deed of Gift' turned up forty years later, in the early 1990s, amongst Parish records found locked in a safe at the Lifford Hall. But, of course, by this time it's significance was long forgotten).

The Worcester City & County Fire Brigade took legal advice on the matter. They laid all the facts of the case before Counsel, Mr Harold Willis, who was of the following opinion:- ‘The Fire Brigades Act 1938 constituted Evesham Rural District Council as the fire authority, and the Parish Council ceased to be responsible; all rights and property being transferred to the new authority. Although the Evesham R.D.C. did not, after the 1938 Act, assume ownership of the building, and they continued to pay a nominal rent for its use, they had no power under the Act to disclaim the property, and it automatically transferred to them, and all that was open to negotiation was the amount of compensation payable to Broadway Parish Council.
Broadway fire station 1964
Broadway fire station in 1964. The extention to the rear of the original 1899 station can clearly be seen.
So, by virtue of the provisions of the 1938 and 1947 Fire Brigade Acts, the station and the land on which it stood now belonged to Worcestershire County Council. All that remained was for its value, at 1939 rates, to be paid to Broadway Parish Council by way of compensation. The District Valuer set the value of the station at £160. The land on which the station stood, and the extra required for the new extension, a plot measuring in total 145ft x 30ft., was valued at £85. The Parish Council received a cheque from the County Council to pay for the station in November 1951, and one for the land in August 1952. Shortly afterwards the extension to the fire station was built, and an Auxiliary Towing Vehicle (ATV) was supplied to haul the trailer pump and transport the firemen.