The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has won a reversal of £2m of cuts to the Fire Service in Nottingham.
The cuts, announced in autumn 2022, would have seen West Bridgford fire station closed at night. London Road and Stockhill stations would also have lost firefighters and fire appliances.
The victory follows a sustained campaign of lobbying by the FBU.
On 23 September 2022, members of the union attended a meeting of the Combined Fire Authority, which is chaired by Cllr Michael Payne.
They called for the proposals to be shelved and called for the Authority and the Chief Fire Officer to join with members of the Union in calling for greater investment.
The union says that the Fire Authority railroaded the proposals through with only a few notable objectors voting against them.
Immediately after the conclusion of the meeting, members of the FBU, alongside Cllr Steve Battlemuch, began to mobilise more widely, with firefighters and supporters having a presence on the streets of Nottinghamshire campaigning against the proposed cuts.
The FBU also made the case for further investment in Westminster, demanding that the government increase funding to protect frontline services. The lobbying effort concluded with a meeting attended by MPs from across the county, alongside the FBU leadership, union members, the Chief Fire Officer and the Chair of the Authority.
It has now been confirmed that the cuts will not take place.
Ben Selby, Assistant General Secretary elect of the Fire Brigades Union said:
“This is a fantastic result for the people of Nottinghamshire. These cuts would have inevitably increased Fire Service response times, putting the lives of those that live and work in the affected areas at an increased risk.
“Since 2010, budgets have been attacked by central governments, with Fire Authorities doing little to protect their communities from cuts that can cost lives.
“This result is a testament to the tireless work of members and officials of the FBU in Nottinghamshire. They knew what losing these services would mean for their communities, and fought to save them with everything they had.
“When many policy-makers and onlookers doubted that our members could secure additional funding, they ignored them and cracked on with their campaign. They should be immensely proud of the result.”
The full package of cuts which has been blocked would have meant:
- No night-time cover at West Bridgford
- One pump lost from London Road Station
- One pump lost at Stockhill Station
- The loss of 44 firefighter jobs in total
- A saving from the operational budget of £2m
