Member for Cootamundra Katrina Hodgkinson has announced two new stations will be built for the communities of Cowra and Cootamundra. Ms Hodgkinson said the new purpose-built stations will enable local NSW Ambulance paramedics to better meet the current and future emergency mobile care needs.

"The two new stations will feature facilities that are a major improvement on the current 38-year-old station on the corner of Shelly Street and Grenfell Road in Cowra, and the 60-year-old station on Parker Street in Cootamundra," Ms Hodgkinson said. 

"The NSW Government is investing in purpose-built and modern NSW Ambulance stations to help our highly trained paramedics be in the right place, at the right time."

Acting Zone Manager for Central West Zone 1, Joshua Atkins, said staff are ready and rearing to go with the plans.  

“The staff in Cowra are very excited for the upgrade,” Mr Atkins said.  

Mr Atkins said local paramedics will also get to have their say on the plans and the funding would be focused on stations in rural and regional areas. 

“It’s an opportunity for them to be a part of the design process. It’s going to be a brand new, purpose-built facility which will include things like a new plant room,” he said.

The new stations are part of the NSW Government's $122 million Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration (RAIR) program, which represents the biggest regional and rural transformation of NSW Ambulance infrastructure in the organisation's history. 

The RAIR program currently includes 22 locations across the state that will benefit from an upgraded, rebuilt or entirely new ambulance station including Bathurst, Molong, Coolamon, Ardlethan, Harden and Grenfell. Designed with input from local NSW Ambulance staff, the purpose-built infrastructure will deliver a better working environment for paramedics tailored to the needs of local communities.

Planning for the new stations will commence shortly.