Surrey County councillors meeting to decide on axeing Epsom's fire engine on March 26
4:30pm Monday 18th March 2013 in News By Hardeep Matharu
Epsom fire station is set to lose one engine under proposals by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
Plans to remove one of Epsom’s fire engines will be decided on by councillors next week.
Surrey County Council cabinet will discuss proposals to reconfigure fire services across Epsom and Ewell, and Reigate and Banstead, which would see new fire stations established in Salfords, south of Redhill, and the Burgh Heath area.
Under the plans, one of Epsom’s two engines would be relocated to Burgh Heath by 2014, which would nearly double the average time it would take for firefighters to start treating a serious fire in the town.
The council has argued that the proposed changes would provide quicker response times across the county as a whole.
Councillor Kay Hammond, cabinet member for community safety, said: "The demands made of the fire service have changed over time which means today not all of Surrey’s fire stations are in the right position.
"Creating two new fire stations will help re-balance cover and provide a quicker response time across the county.
"This will ensure that the fire service is evolving to meet the changing demands of today and the coming years."
A consultation on the plans, which was launched in December, was due to end in February, but was extended until the beginning of March, after Epsom Council said the consultation process had been "fundamentally flawed" and reconsidered.
All three parties in Epsom united to oppose the plan.
But just three people attended a meeting at Bourne Hall on Valentine's Day to hear about and give feedback on the plans.
The council's cabinet meeting will be held on March 26, at 2pm, in the Ashcombe Suite at County Hall, Kingston.
Comments(3)
chillieman
says...
11:35pm Mon 18 Mar 13
ianborn1973
says...
9:38am Tue 19 Mar 13
The police station is closed, straight away worse service to the residents, why is the cost saving not passed on to the residents? Loss of a fire engine will mean someone sometime will lose their lives.
I for one would rather see reduced Health tourism, immigrants and influx from EU countries than cutting back these crucial services.
cynical me says...
5:16pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Imagine a huge accident on the M25, local pumps attended already stretching the service to it's limit, thousands of motoristist divert via A3? A217? A24? another major incident occurs from the knock on of traffic or maybe a major fire, the services would already be stretched to full capiciaty.
Lives could and prob will be lost becasue of this
Lets cut politicians services and see how they like it