Wednesday 16 June 2010

DATE TO DECIDE FIRE STATION CLOSURES ANNOUNCED

A LONG-awaited decision on the future of seven Warwickshire fire stations will be made next month – and union leaders are expecting the “worst case scenario”.

Warwickshire County Council has announced July 20 as the date a meeting will take place to decide the fate of Warwick, Bidford, Brinklow, Kenilworth, Studley, Fenny Compton and Bedworth fire stations, which are under threat of closure.

About 100 retained firefighters also face losing their jobs under the council’s Fire and Rescue Improvement Plan.

The council has always maintained the plan is not a cost-cutting exercise, but one to see how a better service can be delivered.

But hundreds of residents have held protest marches and submitted petitions to the council, backed by the Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) and MPs.

Mark Rattray, FBU’s Warwickshire brigade secretary, said: “What we have been told is that the proposal is the same as last year, which means losses are still part of the plan.

“This is after a lot of hard work from people campaigning to keep them and the feeling is still strong.

“We are still opposed to any closures and we are expecting the worst case scenario.

“We can understand that savings need to be made, but we need to ensure the safety of people first. We can bring to the table other ideas that would make savings and still keep the stations, such as modernising them.

“Some of the buildings are so old that they need investing in now – this will help to save later.”

Originally a decision was due to be made in February, but it was delayed because of the elections.

In the past eight months petitions have been handed in and protest marches organised by scores of angry residents.

Chris Downes, regional secretary of the FBU, said: “We will be looking at the local authority to see which way they will go. This whole process has been strange, and because of the elections, faced many delays.

“The public have supported a campaign to keep the stations open and the FBU have also submitted many reports. But I’m in the dark as much as everyone else on this matter.

“But they have to make a decision now and the FBU will take on what they say and deal with it accordingly.”

Tory MP Chris White, for Warwick and Leamington, said: “I still want the fire stations to stay open and there is still a high level of support from residents, district and county councillors.

“We’re looking to close this proposal down.

“The stations are essential for the confidence and safety for people of Warwickshire.

“People’s views must be listened to by the local authority.”

A campaign set up on social-networking site Facebook has attracted more than 2,000 members calling for an immediate halt of the proposed plans.

One person wrote: “No fire stations should close, every town should have one. For the community it is essential. Like a pub or a post office, it serves the area in its own way and should never be closed through cutbacks.”

What do you think? Write to us or email timesletters@mrn.co.uk.

No comments:

Post a Comment