Dunne urges rethink over possible closure of Clun Fire Station

Mr Dunne canvassed more than 3000 people in the Clun area, asking them to give their views on the future of Clun Fire Station, and received more than 800 responses in just a few days.

Mr Dunne said “The level of feedback is clearly indicative of the strength of feeling that local people have on this issue. I have already provided the results of this survey to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Services’ Chairman and Chief Fire Officer and hope that the Board will take full note before making their decision. It is no surprise that 98% of those who responded to my survey want to see Clun Fire Station remain open. Interestingly more than two thirds advocated use of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s reserves to keep the retained station in Clun open.

"The potential loss of the station is of particular concern to local residents due to the remote rural nature of the area served by Clun Fire Station and its distance from other stations within Shropshire and neighbouring counties. More than half of the respondents feared that should Clun Fire Station be closed, the nearest alternative appliance would take more than 20 minutes to arrive.

"It is noteworthy that 85% of those who responded to my survey have had some experience of the fire service operated from Clun in one way or another. Many people took the time to write additional notes extolling the service of the fire-fighters based in Clun and their importance to the local community, not only in fighting fires but in providing fire safety advice, helping fit alarms and their considerable charity work.

"I hope that Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service will carefully consider the feedback from my survey, and make use of that information in their Board’s discussions about the future of Clun Fire Station. It would clearly be reassuring to the local community if they were able to rule out closure of all retained stations, including Clun, as part of their further deliberations on achieving savings.”