Plans to close fire station sparks concern

A town in Surrey could soon lose its fire station, while others could face service changes, the county's fire service has said.

Chief fire officer Dan Quin said Banstead fire station was "no longer fit-for-purpose" and the service was looking at moving its engine and crew to Godstone - nine miles away.

Banstead resident Chris Bourner told BBC Radio Surrey the plans made him feel vulnerable.

But Mr Quin said he could "assure" residents that response times would still not exceed a 10-minute target.

The average response time to critical incidents in Reigate and Banstead is seven minutes and 23 seconds.

It would increase to eight minutes and three seconds if the move goes ahead, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service’s draft community risk management plan (CRMP) said.

The figure for Tandridge is currently eight minutes and 42 seconds, which would be cut by 10 seconds under the plans.

However, local resident Mr Bourner said: "You can't expect the poor [crews] to meet the time [targets]... if it's going to move away."

But Mr Quin said Banstead did not have adequate facilities for its crew, which already visited neighbouring stations to carry out training.

Meanwhile, the lease on Banstead fire station cannot be renewed past 2025, according to the CRMP.

The service is also proposing changes to staffing at five other stations.

Mr Quin said the number of incidents did not fluctuate per day of the week, but there were five more engines available during the day at weekends than during the week.

The plan is to scrap weekend daytime on-call fire engines in Chobham, Dunsfold, Gomshall, Guildford and Lingfield.

Staff who are usually on-call at weekends would then be available during the night instead, which is when they are most needed, the fire service said.

Meanwhile, Camberley's daytime fire engine and crew would be moved Elmbridge or Spelthorne to cover night shifts, as the CRMP said Camberley was over-staffed.

Camberley will still have a 24-hour fire engine.

In summer months however, it said additional resources would be put into Camberley to address the risk of wildfires.

A public consultation on the proposals lasts until 31 July, with a decision made by the fire authority in January.

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