Surrey County Council consultation on reduction of Fire Stations in Spelthorne
Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned by the proposal to shut both Fire Stations in Spelthorne and replace them by one on the A308 between Ashford and Staines. Of even more concern is the loss of one of our two Fire Engines. It means we will have only one in the Borough. Surrey assures us that we will be able to get extra cover in time from places like Chertsey.
While it is claimed that response time will still be faster than many of the rural parts of the county it does NOT take into account that we are separated from the rest of the county by a river. The bridges are choke points that can quickly make a mess of any computer predicted timetable and traffic on bridges cannot move out of the way for a fire engine. . On August the 4th, the date of the London and Surrey bike ride, EVERY bridge from Richmond to Datchet (including the motorways) was either shut, restricted or congested.
Are Surrey going to promise that there will be no more bottle-necks on our bridges? Can they guarantee that there will be no more traffic snarl ups in Spelthorne? What is even more galling is that this is being done as a cost-cutting measure by a Tory run County that already has more than £230 million in reserve and can find money for luxury away-days and expensive prestige projects.
You can respond to the consultation by using this link to Surrey's online questionaire.
or write to:
PSP Team Surrey Fire & Rescue
Croydon Road Reigate
Surrey RH2 0EJ
or emailing comments to psp@surreycc.gov.uk
or telephone: 03456 009 009
The Council's consultation summary can be found here
The Council's frequently asked questions can be found here