Plans for far-reaching reform of the county’s fire and rescue service were given the green light by councillors today.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority agreed to the replacement of 10 fire stations and other changes designed to save £4m. a year.
The authority is facing the possible loss of £18m. in central government grants between now and 2016.
The plans, which may take four years to fully realise, will see new stations in:
• Killingbeck, to replace Gipton and Stanks
• Menston, to replace Rawdon and Otley
• Rastrick, to replace Brighouse and Elland
• South Kirkby, to replace Hemsworth and South Elmsall
• Batley/Dewsbury, to replace Batley and Dewsbury.
A smaller fire response unit (FRU) will replace the second fire engine at Moortown and the second engine at Silsden will become a back-up appliance based at Keighley.
All the new stations will have additional, back-up engines which will be crewed during peak demand.
There will be over 100 full-time firefighter posts removed from the establishment, but all through planned retirements.
Chief Fire Officer Simon Pilling said he fully understood the concerns of people who had objected to the proposals during public consultation but remained convinced that the plans were operationally sound and in the best long-term interests of the brigade.
“Of course we could have sat back, grumbled about our grant allocation, and done nothing but the reality is that we haven’t had the cash to recruit since 2009 and are fast approaching the point where we will not be able to crew the full fleet. Many of our fire stations would then become glorified garages, unable to turn out an appliance.
“My proposals will spread us a little more thinly but still enable us to deliver a first-class emergency service across the whole of West Yorkshire.”
The chief’s proposals attracted support from Calderdale Council, individual councillors and West Yorkshire Police but 2,973 letters of objection or concern were received over a 13-week consultation period. Fewer firefighters and longer response times were top of objectors’ agenda.
“No one is more disappointed than me that we are having to make such fundamental changes, so fast, but no credible alternative has been put forward,” said Mr. Pilling. “I have done everything in my power to try and find a solution which meets community risk, protects firefighter safety and avoids the need for the compulsory redundancy of full-time firefighters.”
Councillor David Ridgway, who chairs the fire authority, said his colleagues agreed the plans ‘with a heavy heart.’
“The fight with Whitehall for fairer funding goes on -- and we embrace the support for that campaign from the Fire Brigades Union – but the authority can’t shake off its responsibilities by simply blaming others. The bottom line is that, whatever the circumstances, we have a duty to provide and maintain the best fire and rescue service that resources will permit. It is some comfort that a great many consultees, though palpably hostile to change, recognised our dilemma.”
However, Councillor Ridgway emphasised that important as the changes were they would merely bridge a proportion of the projected four-year funding gap and that the search for further savings would continue with a fundamental management restructure beginning in the New Year.
Details of the proposals are below:
Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2012-13 consultation paper (534.05kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Gipton/Stanks Business Case (996.94kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Gipton and Stanks Risk Reduction Action plan (1352.52kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Rawdon and Otley Business Case (1008.48kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Rawdon and Otley Risk Reduction Action Plan (1303.63kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Brighouse/Elland Business Case (1027.37kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Brighouse and Elland Risk Reduction Action Plan (976.17kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
South Elmsall/Hemsworth Business Case (931.73kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
South Elmsall and Hemsworth Risk Reduction Action Plan (985.91kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Batley/Dewsbury Business Case (986.88kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Batley and Dewsbury Risk Reduction Action Plan (771.71kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Moortown Business Case (358.51kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Moortown Risk Reduction Action Plan (1330.79kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
Silsden Business Case (306kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) ... to be read in conjunction with IRMP Action Plan 2012-13 consultation paper
Silsden Risk Reduction Action Plan (761.78kb) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window) (PDF Document - Opens in a new window)
