Consultation on future of fire station facing closure

The public is being asked for their views on the future of an East Sussex fire station which is at risk of closure.

Mayfield Community Fire Station, which relies on on-call firefighters, has the lowest activity within the East Sussex Fire and Rescue service.

In 2023, it responded to emergencies 6% of the time due to a lack of available crew, rather than the 50% target.

East Sussex Fire Authority said: "It has become harder to recruit on-call firefighters who can provide emergency cover at the times they are needed most."

The fire authority says it wants to manage its resources, budget and people as "effectively as possible" and is considering closing the Mayfield site.

"The risks faced by local communities are changing," it said.

The public has been invited to share their opinions on four possible options.

Some locals have said they want the station to stay open due increasing traffic and population growth putting more pressure on fire services.

In all, 103 incidents were recorded in the Mayfield station area between January 2022 and December 2023.

Of those, 13 were classed as "critical".

The options on offer as part of the consultation are:

• Option 1 – Maintain Mayfield as a single appliance on-call fire station and uplift the availability to the service’s minimum standard of 50%.
• Option 2 – Closure and sale of the fire station, keep the fire appliance and reinvest the revenue staff costs.
• Option 3 – Closure and sale of the fire station and appliance, and reinvest staff costs.
• Option 4 – Closure and sale of the fire station and appliance, and removal of the on-call section as an additional saving to meet budget shortfall if required.

The nearest fire stations to Mayfield are located in Crowborough, Wadhurst, Heathfield and Burwash.

The public consultation will run until 27 September, with the findings considered at a fire authority meeting by the end of the year.

People can take part by filling out this survey, with in-person and online events planned in the local area.

The fire authority had received 195 responses as of 9 August.

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