Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
Staines fire station could close due to 'severe' budget strain
Surrey County Council said crews would operate only out of Sunbury following delays on building a new base
Matt StrudwickContent editor
The station would close from April 2017
The decision to potentially close a fire station in Spelthorne before a new base is built due to a "severe strain" on Surrey County Council's (SCC) budgets shows its governance is "broken beyond repair", the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) says.
The Conservative-run council's cabinet approved the closure of Sunbury and Staines fire stations in 2014 and to replace them with a new £3.7m base in Ashford at the end of this year in cost-cutting plans put forward by Surrey Fire and Rescue Authority (SFRA).
But on Wednesday (November 30) SCC announced proposals to close Staines fire station from April and operate only from Sunbury until the new station is built.
Work has not yet started on the new facility as the council is still "to secure the optimum access to the site".
Spelthorne fire station
Plans delayed
'Low cost' station approved
Fire station closures gathers pace
Closures 'high risk gamble'
Councillor Kay Hammond, Surrey's cabinet member for fire and police services, said Fordbridge was the best possible location for a new fire station in the area.
"However due to the severe strain on our budgets we're proposing to close Staines fire station and operate from Sunbury until the new station at Fordbridge is built, with backing from crews from surrounding stations including Chertsey and Egham," she said.
SCC said replacing one full-time crew would save £880,000 per year.
Initial plans to include a second fire engine, with an "on call" crew that could be called on when required have also been scrapped.
Cllr Hammond said: "The huge financial pressure we're under also means we're proposing to go ahead with Fordbridge without an on-call crew but we're confident we would still be able to provide an excellent fire and rescue service for the people of Spelthorne and beyond."
'Like an iceberg floating towards the equator'
In August, SCC said there was "no issues of funding" when asked by Get Surrey if there was a budget provision for Staines and Sunbury fire stations from March 31 next year if a new base was not built in time.
The FBU said SFRA cannot be allowed to continue to keep cutting the fire service's budget to fund other council services.
Spelthorne fire station plans delayed again as council seeks to secure access route
Richard Jones, fire brigade union secretary in Surrey, said the governance of SFRS is broken beyond repair and urgently needs to be changed to merge with East and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services to improve public safety.
"SFRS is like an iceberg floating towards the equator and this must not be allowed to continue for the sake of those who live, work, or commute in Surrey," he said.
"Or indeed those firefighters that are left to deal with a rising number of emergency calls without sufficient crew numbers or fire engines to do so effectively or safely."
He said crews from Staines had attended 415 life-threatening medical emergencies in conjunction with paramedics in the last six months.
"Without the crews from Staines attending these calls and carrying out life preserving medical assistance until the paramedics arrive, it would undoubtedly have led to a much higher number of those patients dying," he said.
"It is absolutely ludicrous that the SFRA have decided that Staines fire station should be closed and it's important to understand that the crews from Sunbury will not be able to attend any co-responding calls in the Staines area."
A 12-week consultation on the plans has been launched and will run until February 20, 2017.
Surrey County Council