It has become clear that Surrey County Council’s plan to close Staines fire station contradicts an agreement reached in 2014 whereby the station would be kept open until the new station at Fordbridge had opened.
It was also agreed that at that point Spelthorne would be provided with one full time fully manned appliance and another with an "on call" crew, rather than just the one appliance and crew as now being proposed.
Whilst we understand there are Surrey County budget pressures, we are committed to doing all we can to the secure the best service for our residents in Spelthorne.
Closing Staines fire station is unnecessary and could compromise the safety of borough residents.
Despite our requests, Surrey County Council have failed to identify any other areas in Surrey that are facing similar Fire Service cuts. Sadly we have to conclude that Spelthorne is being unfairly singled out.
As already stated, this new proposal contravenes an earlier agreement and is a matter of serious concern to many in the Borough of Spelthorne.
For these reasons we are resolutely opposed to the closing of the fire station at Staines.
Kwasi Kwarteng, Conservative Member of Parliament for Spelthorne
Ian Harvey, Conservative Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council