Date set for decision on fire station closure

A date has been set for a decision on the closure of eight fire stations in Wiltshire and Dorset.

At a meeting of the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Authority on Tuesday, June 30, councillors will discuss the results of a public consultation that attracted more than 6,000 responses.

The crunch meeting will be held at Salisbury City Hall, due to the expected interest from firefighters, unions, and members of the public.

While the agenda will not be published until a week before the meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that a decision on the potential closures of eight fire stations will be made at that meeting.

The decision on whether or not to cut fire services does not rest with the fire service or its chief.

Instead, the fire authority – made up of six members of Wiltshire Council, three Swindon Council members, five from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, and four from Dorset Council – will make the decision.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is proposing to close eight on-call fire stations across the two counties as part of cost-cutting measures necessitated by mounting financial pressures.

The affected stations are Bradford on Avon, Mere, Ramsbury and Wilton in Wiltshire, and Charmouth, Cranborne, Hamworthy and Maiden Newton in Dorset.

The proposed closures follow substantial financial difficulties, with DWFRS required to find in-year savings totalling £1.206 million to balance its approved budget of £79.5 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole attributed the financial strain to a long-term decline in central government support, stating that whilst “no one wants to close fire stations”, the proposals aim to better resource the service whilst maintaining expected community support levels.

The projected savings of approximately £800,000 per year have been criticised by some, including Liberal Democrat MP Brian Mathew, who described the closures as a “false economy” given they represent minimal savings compared to the overall £80 million annual budget.

Following a meeting of the fire authority on February 10,

a committee-approved consultation ran from February 13 until May 15, with public meetings held in affected communities during March and April.

The Fire Brigades Union has strongly opposed the proposals, warning that closing fire stations would leave communities without adequate protection from fires, flooding and other emergencies, putting lives at risk.

The closures would result in the loss of 96 firefighter posts – removing approximately 16 per cent of the frontline workforce from a service that has already lost a fifth of its firefighters since 2010.

The fire service has acknowledged that 999 response times would be slower if stations are closed. In a statement, they said: “We do recognise that there will be an increase in the response times to some emergencies.”