To note any requests to speak on any items that are on the agenda in accordance with the Council’s Public Speaking Scheme (see footnote to this agenda).
Minutes:
Keith Kondakor addressed the meeting in relation to Agenda Item 9 - Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service Future Operating Model. He raised concerns relating to the number of fire service call outs in Bedworth which he described as one of the busiest areas in Warwickshire. He felt it would be reckless to amend the level of cover in that location because of the 1408 call outs made per year, Bedworth’s share totalled 240 of these. Therefore, Bedworth’s percentage totalled 4.5% of total with the other eleven areas only covering 12%.
Mr Kondakor was disappointed that his comments appeared to have been ignored as he felt strongly that the daytime cover and jobs should be kept, to maintain the level of resilience. He asked that the changes in Nuneaton not be taken forwards and officers look to reduce other areas of cover instead. He reiterated his disappointment with the consultation and the scrutiny meeting taking place in the election period. He concluded by suggesting that WFRS move forwards with the proposals for non-contentious areas but revisit the figures for Nuneaton to avoid loss of property and life.
Penny Barry, a resident of Bidford, spoke about four of the stations in Model A being located in the south of the County, with a plan to reclassify them as resilience. She raised a concern that for this proposal to work, enough full time staff would have to sign up, on top of their 40 hour shifts. She queried if the resilience model had been used elsewhere and whether Cabinet fully understood what surge was and the time lapse of availability. Ms Barry went on to state that the three resilience stations in the south of the county left the areas dangerously short in an emergency.
She also referred to the reduction in available appliances at night which would increase the risk to residents, employees and people travelling through the area. She stated that Bidford residents welcomed the contracted on-call at night, believing that with proactive recruitment on-call day cover was feasible for Bidford and Polesworth. She referred to the attendance times being a concern in the south and south-east of the county and asked the Leader directly if she thought this was acceptable for the residents.
Dr Manuela Perteghella, MP for Stratford-on Avon thanked Cabinet for allowing her to speak and outlined how the proposal would affect her constituency and surrounding areas. She referred to the fact that the proposal was significantly different from the original and asked that consultation be re-opened. She felt that it was important that residents felt listened to and had their views taken into account before the proposal went ahead.
She referred to the improvements made to the proposal from the previous mode and the percentage of cover in Bidford, Alcester and Stratford. In addition, she spoke about Shipston becoming a resilience hub and the Leader of Stratford District Council outlining concerns at the Scrutiny Committee in June. Dr Perteghella raised the issue of HGV’s using the A46 and A45 as a through route to the motorways and how she felt this left the area and surrounding areas vulnerable. Finally, she referred to the finance being proposed for three years only, with no guarantee that funding would continue in future years.