Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, has welcomed the news that Fire Stations in Kinver, Brewood and Codsall are to remain open after proposals to downgrade the stations were axed.
The three local fire stations which serve a large area of South Staffordshire were all due to have closed under initial proposals by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service to help them save £1.7 million.
The proposals would have seen emergency capability in the county reduced from 42 fire engines at 33 stations to 15 fire engines at 15 stations. Chief Fire Officer Peter Dartford from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has recommended that the original plan is to be rejected by the Fire and Rescue Authority when the future of the service is discussed on Monday.
Gavin launched a petition calling for Kinver, Brewood and Codsall and Bilbrook to keep their engines, collecting more than 2,800 names which he delivered to the House of Commons at the end of last week. The final tally of petitions received now stands at 3,185. The petition detailed the need for the stations to remain open for the safety of constituents across South Staffordshire and highlighted that those located in Kinver and Codsall and Bilbrook are still in the process of being built.
Commenting on the news Gavin said: “I am absolutely delighted that these ridiculous proposals have been scrapped and that the fire stations in Kinver, Brewood and Codsall & Bilbrook are now safe. Residents would not have been safe with the reduced level of cover that had been proposed and I sincerely hope that the Fire Service follow through with the recommendations, which will be a huge relief for my constituents.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who backed our campaign to save the fire stations, especially those who delivered leaflets and signed the petition. It is clear from the 3,185 signatures that we received that constituents across utterly rejected these proposals on the grounds of their safety being compromised and the complete waste of public money.”