1 week Ago By [email protected] (Claire Harrison)
The Minister of State for Fire has raised 'concerns for public safety' over planned cuts to Nuneaton Fire Station. Dame Diana Johnson DBE, who is the Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, has personally written to Warwickshire County Council. It follows the decision to remove one of Nuneaton Fire Station's full time engines to neighbouring Bedworth.
The move, which is being made under the 'Resource to Risk' programme, is due to happen sometime before the summer. The minister said that, after concerns raised by Nuneaton's MP Jodie Gosling, she has concerns about the impact of the loss of an engine from the largest town in Warwickshire will have. READ MORE: Bizarre Bedworth Facebook forum 'troll' used University of Exeter professor profile READ MORE: Burrito chain reveals new design for former Nuneaton town centre shop "Whilst the Home Office would not normally intervene directly in local issues, I share Ms Goslings concerns about the risks that this restructuring poses to public safety," the minister wrote.
She went on to raise concerns about why the local MP's request for the data used to make the decision has not yet been made available. "Despite these requests for localised data, Ms Gosling has not been able to obtain the relevant information to make an informed assessment of the impact to public safety this decision has for Nuneaton residents," the minister said. "The lack of available information and transparency on this issue is concerning.
" Only earlier this week Nuneaton's two engines were first on the scene to a huge fire in Vale View which saw flames spread to four houses. A family with young children were among those left with left with 'just the clothes on their backs' after they were forced to flee their home. CoventryLive put the concerns to Warwickshire County Council, which is responsible for the fire service.
In a statement, Chief Fire Officer Ben Brook said that data was made available at the time of the decision-making last year. He also said that the change will improve response times across the borough. READ MORE: Devastating Nuneaton blaze 'could have been so much worse' amid cuts to fire station “The safety of Warwickshire communities is always our top priority," the statement reads.
"That hasn't changed and will not change. The decision to move to a new operating model was based on robust evidence and data, as all significant decisions should be. " Warwickshire County Council ’s Cabinet, in its role of Fire Authority, took the decision in July 2024, some nine months ago.
This decision was open and transparent, and the data made available at the time. We are at a loss to understand why there would be any suggestion otherwise. "It is important that Nuneaton and Bedworth residents know that currently, the first appliance average response time for the Nuneaton and Bedworth area is 8 minutes, 34 seconds.
Under the new model this improves to 7 minutes, 32 seconds.".
