Consultation continues on proposed fire station closures

The public consultation into the potential closure of eight fire stations within Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is now halfway through.

As part of this consultation, 13 public meetings have already been held. Since 2 March, an evening and a daytime meeting has been held for each of the following locations: Ramsbury, Bradford on Avon, Mere, Wilton and Cranborne. At Hamworthy, there were three meetings – one evening and two daytime - due to limited capacity at the venue.

After the Easter break, similar meetings will be held for Charmouth and Maiden Newton:

• Charmouth – 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Tuesday 14 April, and 11am to 1pm on Wednesday 15 April, both at St Andrew’s Community Hall.
• Maiden Newton – 10.30am to 12.30pm on Tuesday 14 April, and 6pm to 8pm on Thursday 16 April, both in the village hall.

There will also be an online meeting for each location – links to access these can be found at www.dwfire.org.uk/proposed-station-closures:

Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole said: “The meetings held to date have been very well attended, and we are grateful to everyone who has engaged with the process. Thanks also go to the Members of Parliament who have responded to our lobbying, and to all our staff, who are showing great professionalism during a very difficult time.”

He added: “I would urge anyone who hasn’t shared their views on the proposals to do so before the consultation closes on Friday 15 May. All of the feedback will be collated into a report, which will be considered by the Fire and Rescue Authority when they meet on 30 June.”

The Service website holds all of the meeting information, the data considered by the Fire Authority in February, links to the upcoming online sessions, the consultation booklet and the consultation survey - www.dwfire.org.uk/proposed-station-closures