Fire station closures planned

fire chiefs yesterday admitted they had drawn up plans to close three fire stations as part of a scheme to meet Government-imposed cuts.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has been told that its £60m budget will be cut by £10m a year by 2015, and the organisation said the closures were the best way to achieve the savings.

If approved by the service’s governing fire authority, stations in Darnall, Mosborough and Mansfield Road, Sheffield, would close, with new stations built in Birley and near the Sheffield Parkway.

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A further six stations will be affected by “staffing changes” which will see part-time crews removed and full-time crews re-organised – a move the service said would have “no effect on the public”.

A fire service spokesman said: “We don’t want to make these changes but as professional officers have researched the options to save while having minimum impact on the public.”

The proposals have been attacked by the South Yorkshire branch of the Fire Brigades Union which branded them “unworkable” yesterday.