Cordon Demands Full Public Consultation Over Loss Of Night Crew At Haslemere Fire Station (South West Surrey Liberal Democrats)

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats <info@swsurreylibdems.org.uk>

Cordon Demands Full Public Consultation Over Loss Of Night Crew At Haslemere Fire Station

November 4, 2003 12:00 AM

Simon Cordon at Haslemere Fire Station with Fireman Accusation: Surrey's lack of consultation "illegal"

Surrey County Council, and its Fire Service, may face a legal challenge if it fails to carry out a full public consultation over plans to cut full time night crew at Haslemere Fire Station.

The threat has come from SW Lib Dem LibDem Parliamentary Spokesman, Simon Cordon, who two years ago warned that Surrey would seek an opportunity to force through cuts in Haslemere "as soon as it could see the chance".

Meeting

Mr Cordon is planning to meet fire-fighters at the station next week to discuss their fears about the service.

"My worry", said Mr Cordon, "is that Surrey are trying to push cuts through without full statutory public consultation".

The draft proposals would see the current permanent fulltime cover during the night cut with retained part-time cover only. "Retained fire-fighters do a fantastic job but a retained-only service can never be the same as a fulltime instantly available crew", said Mr Cordon. "The Haslemere service is critical not just for Haslemere but for surrounding towns as well. If the permanent crew is cut local people will have to depend on crews from as far away as Farnham and Guildford. This is not acceptable and could seriously threaten lives".

Demand

Mr Cordon has written to Surrey Fire Chief Steve Myers demanding that a full public consultation takes place. Currently it seems that Surrey only intend minimum consultation with bodies like the Town Council and the Chamber of Commerce. "This is not good enough. The public must be fully involved", said Mr Cordon.

Illegal

"Surrey will claim that these proposals are minor and therefore no statutory public consultation is needed. Such a view would be a cop-out and if necessary will need to be challenged legally so as to ensure that a full public consultation takes place", said Mr Cordon.