Public to have say on fire station closures

Plans to close eight of the 50 fire stations across Wiltshire and Dorset are to be put out to public consultation.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) is proposing to shut a number of stations including Ramsbury, Bradford-on-Avon, Wilton and Mere due to "significant financial challenges".

However, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the counties firefighters "cannot take any more cuts to the front line" service.

Following a Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Authority meeting at Salisbury City Hall earlier, a 13-week consultation on the plans will now take place, with a final decision expected on 30 June.

The other stations include Cranborne, Hamworthy, Maiden Newton and Charmouth.

In a statement, the service said a budget of £79.5m had been approved by the authority for 2026-27 but to balance the budget "in-year savings totalling £1.206m" needed to be found.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority is an oversight committee made up of councillors from Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Council, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

Voting on the proposed closures earlier, 11 leaders voted in favour of the plans, with four against and three absentees.

Andy Cole, chief fire officer, said "no-one wants to close fire stations" but the authority's financial pressures "reflects a long-term reduction in central government funding".

"I truly believe these proposals will help better resource the service and save money, whilst still achieving the level of support our communities expect of us," Cole added.

He said the service had "not yet decided" on the proposals and "all feedback received" will help them to determine what is best for the service.

The plans have faced public scrutiny, with more than 10,000 people signing a petition against the proposed closures.

Brian Mathew, the Liberal Democrat MP for Melksham and Devizes, said closing the fire stations was a "false economy" and the amount of money saved from the plans was "minimal".

"If you look at the total savings it's around £800,000 per year on a budget of £80m a year," said Mathew.

"The population is going up, the housing planned is going up by 80% - so it's a crazy time to be doing this," he added.

Ahead of the announcement, Steve Wright from the FBU said the closures would "undoubtedly affect public safety".

Wright said cuts across the fire and rescue service in the UK were to "dangerous levels", with one-in-five firefighter posts culled over the last 15 years.

"The response times in this county are two and half minutes longer than the national average - you cut 96 firefighters from the frontline and close fire stations - you're never getting those back," he said.

"It's beyond dangerous now - and we're saying enough is enough," he added.

A 13 week consultation is due to start from 13 February, with a final decision expected by the end of June.

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