Public meetings on fire station closures begin

Public meetings are being held for people to share their views on the proposed closure of eight on-call fire stations in Dorset and Wiltshire.

As part of cost-saving proposals, four Dorset stations have been earmarked for closure - Charmouth, Cranborne, Hamworthy and Maiden Newton. In Wiltshire, Bradford on Avon, Mere, Ramsbury and Wilton are also under threat.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) is holding meetings in all of the towns or villages affected, along with online sessions, to go through the details and impact of the proposed closures.

The series of meetings runs until late April and forms part of a public consultation running until 15 May. A final decision on the stations is expected on 30 June.

The fire service said its proposed list of stations to close was based on data from the last six years - including how busy the station was, how fast and how often the station could respond to incidents and how other nearby stations could respond instead.

Firefighters at on-call fire stations live or work near to the station and respond when alerted.

DWFRS has said the latest financial settlement from the government is not enough for the service to keep running as it currently is.

It said it had a projected budget shortfall of £1.2m in 2026–27, £1.5m in 2027–28 and £1.7m in 2028–29.

If all eight proposed stations closed, the fire service said it had calculated a saving of £1.5m annually.