East Sussex Fire Authority approves cuts to fire engines and fire fighters in Brighton and East Sussex.
At a meeting today fire service representatives voted to press ahead with the cuts despite opposition from residents and politicians.
The East Sussex Fire Authority has approved controversial cuts to remove two appliances from the Preston Circus station in Brighton and The Ridge station in Hastings and to reduce fire fighters across Brighton and East Sussex
At todays meeting ten Fire Authority members voted for the proposed cuts which had been opposed across the board locally, with eight members voting against.
Des Prichard, chief fire officer for East Sussex and Brighton and Hove, said: “I’m not happy with the changes because we’ve lost fire fighters, no-one is happy about the fire appliance leaving Preston Circus but cuts are inevitable.
“We had a goal of keeping 24 fire stations open before the meeting and after the meeting we still have 24 fire stations open.”
Nancy Platts, parliamentary candidate for Labour in Kemp Town and Peacehaven, added: “This is a terrible decision and I cannot believe the voices of residents have been ignored.
“There are other money saving options and I urge a rethink and a u-turn before it’s too late.”
Fire Authority members decided not to review the public consultation about the proposed cuts, which received 665 responses throughout Brighton and Hove.
A motion was put forward to review the public consultation after it was roundly criticised by members of the panel for failing to reach members of the wider public.
Voting for the motion was tied at 6 each but UKIP Cllr Phil Howson, chairman of the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Fire Service, used his casting vote to deny the motion.
Three petitions were put forward at the meeting, arguing against the removal of the fire engines. All of the petitions received more responses than the public consultation.
Following the meeting Simon Herbert, firefighter and Fire Brigades Union chairman for East Sussex said: “I am deeply disappointed that the public, firefighters and local politicians have been ignored by the Fire Authority.
“Today East Sussex Fire Authority failed to put the safety of the residents of Brighton and Hove first.”
Nancy Platts, Labour Parliamentry candidate for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven is furious that the views of local politicians and thousands of local residents have been ignored.
After the meeting Nancy said: “This is a terrible decision and I cannot believe the voices of residents have been ignored.
“Keeping the public safe should be paramount and cutting frontline services should never have been considered as an option. We should be walking away from this meeting with a commitment to protect these essential services.
“I will not stop this campaign and we will make it clear how unpopular this plan is. There are other money saving options and I urge a rethink and a u-turn before it’s too late.”
Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven was saddened by the decision of the Chair of the Fire Authority, UKIP Councillor for Peacehaven, Phil Howson to use his casting vote.
Simon said: “Councillor Howson was elected as a Peacehaven Councillor to represent the interests of Peacehaven residents, not to support cuts to their local services. I have long argued that the Fire Authority should look again at all its non-frontline services to find savings so that fire stations could retain the equipment they need.
“Today’s vote, to proceed with the reduction in Brighton could also adversely affect East Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven. This decision is at the least shortsighted and I hope is not the thin end of the wedge. I shall be carefully watching the Fire Authority’s reserves, costs and expenses in the coming financial year. I genuinely believe there is a better way and the Fire Authority failed to find it.”
Local Conservatives have vowed to continue to fight the cuts. Conservative Group Leader on the Fire Authority, Patcham Ward Councillor, Carol Theobald, presented a 10,000 signature petition at the meeting opposing the fire service reductions in Brighton & Hove. Carol, and fellow Brighton & Hove Conservative, Wish Ward Councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn, both voted against the proposals and argued that they could potentially put lives at risk.
Prior to the decision being made, Conservative Group Leader on Brighton & Hove City Council, Geoffrey Theobald, and Hove & Portslade MP, Mike Weatherley, wrote a joint letter to the Fire Services Minister, Brandon Lewis MP, urging him to facilitate the merger of the East and West Sussex fire services. They argued that these frontline cuts would not be necessary if the two fire services in Sussex were to merge, creating significant savings in management and back office costs. Plans for a merger were drawn up a couple of years ago and got to an advanced stage, only for West Sussex County Council, as Fire Authority, to pull out.
Carol said: “I am extremely disappointed at this decision by the Fire Authority and I will continue to fight to retain our fire engine. The Fire Authority needs to make these savings over a 4 year period so if only we could get the merger back on track some of the frontline cuts that both East and West Sussex are having to make could be avoided. The strength of public feeling in the city against these proposals is huge as evidenced by the petition I presented at today’s meeting.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.