Forums Forums Local News Fire station in Greasby?

Apparently the Fire Service intends to close Upton and West Kirby fire stations and open a new one in Greasby... somewhere. Nobody seems to know where yet, which is a worry. Upton's only a mile down the road from Greasby - what's the point? If there's a fire in West Kirby, it's still going to take a while to get there. Being in Greasby's not going to make much difference. All seems a bit over the top to me. Anybody heard any more about this?

This has been talked about since the 1980s but has never materialised so far.
Upton, heswall and west Kirby planned for closure, given the current political climate and money situation maybe it will happen now

Thanks for that link - interesting! I don't think Upton Meadow is likely, because most of that's on a long lease to the Woodland Trust, and they better hadn't even THINK about putting it on the village green by the health centre. Levelling the Red Cat and putting it on there would give access to the main road, and make a cosy neighbour for the much-awaited (insert withering sarcasm emoticon here) Sainsburys Local.

planning application is in for turning heswall fire station into a new waitrose supermarket .the bowling green at heswall will also be gone in that plan .
count the fire engines in all Wirral fire stations when you next go past .

That's the situation as of last September, there's more up to date information from a meeting held on the 27th January here http://johnbrace.com/2014/01/28/mer...posed-closures-of-wirrals-fire-stations/ which includes video of a presentation by the Chief Fire Officer Dan Stephens and a question and answer session with councillors.

Hmm... 'they will be working with Wirral council to try and secure land' - which implies any possible land might already be in council ownership. Junior school playing fields, maybe? Though Mill Lane is very busy at school times. Football club on Frankby Road? Market garden by Frankby church? (Okay, that's not quite Greasby, or council land...) Goodness knows.

Thanks

I have heard that a consultation perod on a new suggestion for a fire station site in Greasby is due to open soon. Have had no official news on this yet, but what the bush telegraph is saying about what's being suggested sounds absolutely barking mad...

Thanks for the link to my blog. There is a public meeting of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority next Thursday afternoon to make decisions on the next stage.

The papers for that meeting are here:

http://mfra.merseyfire.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=1401#mgDocuments

The public meeting starts at 1.00pm (this is agenda item 1) and will be in the Temporary Conference Room (1st floor referred to on internal maps as "multi agency support) at
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Bridle Road, Bootle.

The Wirral Council councillors (4) on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority are:

Labour (3) Cllr Denise Roberts, Cllr Jean Stapleton and Cllr Steve Niblock
Conservative (1) Cllr Lesley Rennie

Thanks for sharing that information. I wil be contacting the councillors, as I can't be there myself. There are being carrots dangled along the lines of new shared-use community facilities, but at present we do have a library, childrens centre and community centre that, whilst not the most beautiful things on the earth, do the job and are well maintained. There is a green leafy heart to Greasby village which makes it a very pleasant place to be, and that will be lost if a big uncompromising block of a multi-use building (with fire engines) is plonked down right in the middle of it.

A lot of people are still stinging at having their views ignored over the siting of the new Sainsburys Local store and Vets4pets. This new proposal sounds like a year-long nightmare with no guaranteed improvement in what's on offer to the community. Newer doesn't always mean better.

I think it'll be built next to the Greasby Medical Centre, personally.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.378409,-3.1195755,3a,90y,159.81h,90.54t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1ssszyrU8GARDZhmCp6oj18A!2e0!5s2009-06

N.B. Date change for public meeting - Greasby Methodist Church, 7.30-8.30 27th Oct NOT 20th.

http://www.merseyfire.gov.uk/aspx/pages/LatestNews/NewsDetail.aspx?id=661

I'd like to see them get in and out of there in an hour, with the strength of feeling that exists in Greasby about having the village facilities gutted and the central greenspace trashed... har har... watch this space!

I think a new Greasby fire station is inevitable and a consultation period is usually designed as a smoke screen.

I would bet a plan is already drawn up to put the new station on the green next to the health centre, otherwise why would they be offering possible shared public facilities.

I would agree with the timings of 6.5 minutes on average to attend a fire, put forward by the chief fire officer as I have timed my journey on a friday afternoon from Hoylake & West Kirby. It took me 4.5 mins from the centre of Hoylake to Greasby island, not exceeding 30mph and 2 mins longer from West Kirby Concourse.
It is still no consolation to the people of West Kirby who will suffer fatalities, which will happen! due to the down grading of their service.

On the subject of the inevitable location of a new fire station in Greasby. Why can't it be located on Heron Road, as we have plenty of fields to build on and it would create very little impact on the environment if it was kept single story, also as it's farm land, it would be very cost effective to put a CPO on 1 acre of land.

I feel the figure of £850,000 per year saving will be inflated to help prove the argument, but if that is the figure, an extra precept for the fire service on the community charge (rates) would be negligible and the Wirral community would be safer in their beds at night.

I have no connection with any local organisation, I'm just a concerned resident of Greasby. This is my first post.

I have just received my Focus news letter so I think my previous post was a waste of time, as the meeting on Monday evening in the Methodist hall will be.

Decision made plans sorted, we are wasting our time once again.

I have now been informed by someone in the know that the decision was made and the plans drawn up 12 months ago.

Total whitewash and disregard for local opinions seems to be the order of the day.

Sainsbury all over again I think!

I feel your pain, we've just been through the same process at our end of the Wirral where they are going to build a shiny new fire station on beautiful unspoilt greenbelt land when there are dozens of brownfield sites in much more suitable locations. They had their public consultation, questionnaires, meetings and so on, and completely ignored any feedback they were given. They won the initial planning application and we've just heard they've also won the appeal, so they've got what they want and their plans will go ahead. Public consultation? Waste of time, they were never going to take into account the views of anyone as unimportant as the local residents.

Public meeting tomorrow night - should be a lively one! Even if it is a done deal, and I doubt that, the Council has to be made aware of the strength of feeling, and we will know that we did what we could. It being a Labour council, and West Wirral not being a Labour area, I reckon they think they can ride roughshod over us, which is pretty shabby behaviour. They are called 'Wirral Council' after all, and should be responsible for looking after all of it properly, not just the bits that like them.

More on Second Meeting Click Me

Dan Stevens said his ideal site would be somewhere on Pump Lane. That would be much less disruptive to the community, but is green belt. There was some discussion over whether the ex-RAF site playing fields could be considered, but the only way that might come about would be if the council withdrew the offer of the library site, thereby creating the 'exceptional circumstances' in which releasing a small piece of green belt would be considered. And so it rumbles on... if no alternative site is found and the recommendation to use the Greasby village land is made, then in due course a planning battle will commence.

Personally, I cannot understand why someone, somewhere, does not know where this is likely to be built. It has to be knowledge. No one makes such major plans without knowing fully what the plans are. Therefore, they are keeping the truth hidden, which is a cunning plot and all will be revealed after planning permission and all other obstacles and hurdles have been passed. They already know where, but on the slight possibility that they don't, then that beggars belief and more questions should be raised !

Looks like its been withdrawn the application.

Wirral Council leader blocks plans for a new fire station to be built in the centre of Greasby village

Click Me

That's right. Massive relief in Greasby, but trepidation in Saughall Massie this morning probably, as the land they are now considering is at present Green Belt - not sure precisely where, but wil be on the edge of Saugall Massie I imagine.