Proposed changes to fire cover in the Spelthorne area

Overview

Update on Spelthorne consultation 

Surrey County Council’s Cabinet has confirmed that Staines fire station will now remain open until the new Fordbridge fire station is operational. 

The consultation survey will remain open until 20 February 2017 to continue to seek views on the second proposal. The second proposal still open to consultation, is to go ahead with Fordbridge without an on-call crew.

For those who have already responded to the consultation, answers relating to the proposal to go ahead without an on-call crew at Fordbridge will be analysed as planned. 

Previous answers to the consultation survey relating to the proposal to close Staines fire station early, will not be captured within the scope of the consultation report. 

The consultation report with final recommendations will be sent to Surrey County Council’s Resident Experience Board for scrutiny and then submitted to the council’s Cabinet for a decision.

If you have any questions about the revised survey please contact the team at psp@surreycc.gov.uk. 

Why your views matter

What we are proposing

Increasing demand for essential services such as adult social care and school places, coupled with reduced Government funding, means Surrey County Council is under pressure to find efficiencies and savings on all the services it provides for the county’s residents, including fire and rescue.

As part of this, the fire and rescue cover in Spelthorne was reviewed and following a consultation in 2013 it was decided to close Sunbury and Staines fire stations and replace them with one new fire station at an optimum location to serve the whole area. This would save approximately £900k per year.

The development of the new fire station “Fordbridge” has been delayed while we secure the best possible vehicle access to the site. However, the need to make savings has not changed.

We have reviewed the plans for the new station at Fordbridge, including the proposal to have an on-call crew to work alongside the 24/7 full time crew. The council faces huge financial pressures and needs to find tens of millions of pounds extra each year to meet rising demand for services such as adult social care. In light of these pressures we’re facing, we have little choice but to propose to go ahead with Fordbridge without an on-call crew. An on-call unit would cost on average £185,000 per year and the impact on response times would be small. Arranging appropriate access to the site for an on-call crew would also be expensive and cause significant further delay to the project.

Timings
This consultation runs from 29 November 2016 through to 20 February 2017. The results will be analysed and a report with final recommendations will be sent to Surrey County Council’s Resident Experience Board for scrutiny and then submitted to the council’s Cabinet for a decision.

If you have any questions, are having difficulty completing the survey or you would like to receive a different format, contact the PSP team:

PSP Team
Surrey Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters
Croydon Road
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 0EJ

Or email us: psp@surreycc.gov.uk

What happens next

This consultation runs from Tuesday 29 November through to Monday 20 February 2017. The results will be analysed and a report with final recommendations will be sent to Surrey County Council’s Resident Experience Board for scrutiny and then submitted to the council’s Cabinet for a decision.

If you have any questions, are having difficulty completing the survey or you would like to receive a different format, contact the PSP team:

PSP Team
Surrey Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters
Croydon Road
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 0EJ

Or email us: psp@surreycc.gov.uk

You can find more information about the consultation in our Frequently Asked Questions at www.surrey-fire.gov.uk/psp