Call for fresh consultation over new plans to change Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

Bidford fire station will now keep its on-call night cover, as will Henley, Wellesbourne and Southam, thanks to campaigning by a group of Bidford residents, Bidford 36.

But despite having won this concession, they are still raising the alarm about what they see as a new risk to fire safety in the community.

They say the new proposal, which reduces daytime fire service coverage in South Warwickshire from eight stations to three, leaves the community vulnerable.

And they’re urging the council to reconsider the proposal carefully to prevent compromising public safety.

Bidford 36 member Angus Heward told the Herald: “While the revised proposal from the fire service has incorporated some of the residents suggestions, resulting in Bidford fire station being saved from mothballing, it will only operate at night.

“The revised proposal, passed by WCC’s overview and scrutiny committee, reduces the number of fire stations providing day and nighttime service in South Warwickshire from eight to three, creating significant vulnerabilities for residents, businesses, and travellers.”

Wellesbourne resident Mark Freeman is also calling for the public to be given another say on the altered proposal.

He said: “The ‘judgement of the professionals’ was clearly flawed for their original proposals to require such radical overhaul, seemingly as a direct result of the feedback of non-professional members of the public, so why on earth should the latest proposals be so acceptable without the same level of scrutiny?

“It seems to me that the latest proposals are built on a degree of panic at the public reaction and remain seriously flawed

“I simply cannot see how 'the judgement of the professionals' can possibly be acceptable when increased costs lead to reduced attendance times and a reduced total number of appliances.

“The simple base premise of concern over the latest proposals though, remains an admission of increased attendance times by fire engines in the Stratford area – the largest tourist area in the county, full of hotels, pubs, restaurants, tourist attractions and other major industrial risks.

“That, to me, is wholly unacceptable.”

In last week’s meeting Cllr Andy Crump, the county’s portfolio holder for fire and rescue, urged his committee colleagues to trust the judgement of “the professionals”, meaning chief fire officer Ben Brook.

But Cllr Jenny Fradgley (Lib Dem, Stratford West) says the new proposal is “radically different” and must be run past residents again.

She said: “We are still questioning what’s happening.

“The first proposed option went out for consultation, and we think this [latest proposal] should go out for further consultation because it is a radically different proposal to what we had before.

“I would very much hope that the final decision will not be made without further discussion, particularly with the public.”

The firefighters’ union, the Fire and Rescue Services Association (FRSA), which is fiercely opposed to the new proposals, has pointed out the potential for 23 fire engines available during the day and 21 at night, would fall to 14 in the day and 13 at night.

The union also warned Shipston, Gaydon and Fenny Compton stations will “effectively close for normal business” and said people will be “appalled at the sight of a fire authority deliberately reducing fire cover”.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s own figures show that under the new option, first fire engine attendance times go up for Stratford – from the current average of 11 minutes 45 seconds to 12 minutes and 2 seconds.

The new plans will require an extra 30 firefighters and an added £556,000 of annual funding for the next three years, plus £600,000 on capital works to buildings and equipment, funding that the council has now found from its reserves.

The proposals will now go before the county council’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday 16th July.