Wrexham Council Set to ‘Vehemently Oppose’ Plans to Axe One of Wrexham’s Fire Engines

Wrexham Council are set to ‘vehemently oppose’ controversial plans to reduce the number of whole-time fire engines in the County Borough.

The Council have responded to a consultation being undertaken by North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority regarding proposals to cut the number of full-time fire engines in Wrexham from two to one.

It is estimated that 24 firefighter jobs would also be lost if the cuts went ahead.

The proposed response, which has been published ahead of tomorrow’s Lead Members Delegated Decisions has been put together following a Members Workshop held last month.

Within the response Wrexham Council say it ‘does not believe that due consideration has been given to the planned increase in households, population and workplaces in the County Borough over the coming years’.

Responding to the question ‘What about our plan to remove one of the Wrexham based fire engines?‘, the local authority says: “Wrexham Council is vehemently opposed to any proposal to remove a fire engine from the town, both for the safety of the town but also due to the cover the engine provides to other fire stations across the County Borough.

“A fast and reliable fire and rescue services is vital for local people, their homes and their livelihoods and Councillors expressed huge concerns about the increased risk to local people were an engine to be removed.

“Wrexham is already the largest town in Wales and is predicted to grow still further with additional homes and business premises planned over the next few years, not to mention the United Kingdom’s largest prison being due to open on the outskirts of the town in February 2017.

“Funding issues for a regional body should be not be resolved by service cuts in a single County Borough Council area – this is a local solution to a regional issue. Our key concern is that the Council does not believe that due consideration has been given to the planned increase in households, population and workplaces in the County Borough over the coming years.

“We would also highlight that the Chief Fire Officer’s assertion that the impact of the prison will be negligible appears to contradict the Governor of HMP Berwyn who has said much the opposite as part of general conversations at meetings of Wrexham Industrial Estate residents and local community councils.

“These views were not given in the context of proposals to reduce services to Wrexham, but we would ask that the views of the Governor on this proposal should be sought as a matter of urgency.

“In general, Members felt the information provided within the consultation is not sufficiently detailed to support the judgement that the Fire Service have made on this issue. Information shared informally at the workshop by the Chief Fire Officer, whilst not persuasive, gave a far better understanding of the issues and rationale behind the proposals as well as safeguards such as the reserve fleet.

“There is a real need for better communication with the public – both in terms of the current cost of the service and how both in terms of the current cost of the service and how it is funded, but also in making the case for the service cuts set out for Wrexham.”

On Bonfire Night over 500 campaigners took to the streets of the town centre to march against the controversial proposals.

Led by the Cambria Band the march took campaigners down Brook Street, Hill Street and Regent Street before finishing at Queen’s Square.

The Fire Authority is asking the public to give their views on proposals which include cutting one of Wrexham’s fire engines to leave just one covering the whole town and surrounding areas. The consultation comes to an end on December 12th and you can register your views here.

*Thanks to Rachel Allen for the images featured above of this month’s march