Fire service cuts consultation sees 1,500 responses

A public consultation into controversial plans to restructure a fire and rescue service has received about 1,500 responses.

Oxfordshire County Council previously said its proposals - which includes plans to close three fire stations - would improve safety and efficiency.

But the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has called the situation a "direct attack on firefighters" and said the proposals "present dangers" to both staff and the public.

The consultation into the plans, which began in October, ended last week, and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it would now be "analysing the responses thoroughly".

The service said it was "grateful for the level of engagement" and explained that things "may go a little quiet... for now" while the responses were reviewed.

"This next stage is really important, and we're committed to doing it properly," it said, adding that updates would be shared "as soon as we can".

The consultation had only garnered 900 responses by the time it was initially due to end on 20 January.

It was then extended for an additional 10 days, with a further 600 responses received in that time.

Among the proposals set out in the consultation were plans to create five day-shift fire engines in Wallingford, Faringdon, Witney, Bicester and Chipping Norton.

It also included the removal of the on-call fire engine from Oxford's Rewley Road due to low staffing levels.

No closures have been confirmed as part of the proposals, but the service had said on-call stations at Woodstock, Eynsham and Henley were being considered for closure due to "persistent low fire engine availability".

The FBU said the changes risked putting lives at risk.

But the service's chief fire officer, Rob MacDougall, has said the changes would result in "better response times to the whole of Oxfordshire".

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