Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has welcomed Monday’s decision to scrap plans to downgrade Rhyl Fire Station.
Rhyl and Deeside fire stations both faced being closed at night under cuts to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
However, at Monday’s North Wales Fire Authority meeting, members voted to reject all proposals in the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) Emergency Cover Review to downgrade coverage and are expected to meet in the New Year to consider next steps.
Having submitted a letter to the consultation process outlining his concerns regarding the proposals, James is pleased that services in both Rhyl and Deeside have been safeguarded.
He said:
“After these proposals were first announced, I was approached by both firefighters and members of the public from the Vale of Clwyd, and across North Wales, who were extremely concerned about the potential dangers of such moves.
"I subsequently met and liaised with the Chief Fire Officer, Dawn Docx, to discuss the proposals and responded to the consultation process.
“My primary concern was that switching night cover in Rhyl to on-call firefighters would incur worsened response times in the immediate area and could prove incredibly challenging for those firefighters who do not already live within five minutes of the fire station.
“Now that a decision has been taken, NWFRS can set their budget. I was very pleased to be told that this can be achieved without the need to cut firefighter jobs and without the loss of any fire stations in North Wales.”
James added:
“Whilst this week’s decision is a victory for firefighters and the people served by the Rhyl and Deeside stations, we must remember that the reason for the review was to establish a more equitable service across the whole of North Wales, with rural areas better covered. The fire service will now consider alternative proposals, which will be brought before the authority next year.”
https://www.jamesdavies.org.uk/news/mp-outlines-his-concern-over-propos…;
