Member of Parliament for Wrexham, Sarah Atherton MP, has publicly criticised the consultation proposals by the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority on the future provision of emergency cover for Wrexham.
Two out of the three consultation options, as part of the Fire Authority’s Emergency Cover Review, propose removing Wrexham’s third fire appliance (i.e., fire engine), maintaining one appliance staffed by wholetime firefighters and one retained appliance staffed by on-call firefighters – who would not always be available and who do not have the necessary skills to undertake some of the tasks of wholetime firefighters.
Mrs Atherton has slammed the plans, describing them as unacceptable for an area the size of Wrexham, which, as Wales’ newest city, has plans for expansion – both in terms of domestic homes and businesses. Wrexham, as the largest urban settlement in North Wales, covers an area of almost 200 square miles, consisting of a city centre and surrounding communities which are home to approximately 140,000 residents. Wrexham also has one of the largest industrial estates in Europe which contains over 340 businesses and employs over 10,000 people. It contains HMP Berwyn, the UK’s largest prison, and Wrexham Maelor Hospital is the largest hospital in North Wales. This whole area is served primarily by Wrexham Fire Station and its three appliances, which currently attend 1,572 callouts a year – more than five incidents a day.
In a public letter to the Chief Executive of the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority, which formed part of her own response to the consultation, Mrs Atherton wrote:
“Fire and Rescue services in Wales are devolved to the Welsh Government in Cardiff. The first and most important duty of any government is to keep its citizens safe. Therefore, I would suggest that it is the responsibility of the Welsh Government to step up and provide the funding necessary to maintain Wrexham’s current level of fire service provision – particularly as the UK Government recently delivered the largest annual funding settlement to Wales since devolution, providing a record £18 billion per year to the Welsh Government – around £1.20 for every £1 spent in England.”
At the end of her letter, which can be viewed on Mrs Atherton’s social media pages, she included a photograph of two fire engines attending an incident on Wrexham’s High Street on 22nd August 2023. Underneath the photo, she wrote: “If proposals to remove Wrexham’s third fire appliance are adopted, an incident such as the one pictured would take up the entire provision of Wales’ newest city – leaving the rest of Wrexham unsupported.”
Mrs Atherton finished her letter by saying: “Thank you to our Wrexham firefighters.”
Sarah Atherton MP is now urging other Wrexham residents to make their voices heard and respond to the official consultation before the closing deadline on 22nd September 2023. The consultation can be found online at: www.yourvoicewrexham.com.
Commenting, Mrs Atherton said:
“I am worried that Wrexham is, once again, bearing the brunt of the Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay’s decision to underfund North Wales and treat us as an afterthought, instead of addressing the North-South funding disparity which led to the same proposals being made in 2016. Clearly, Wrexham is repeatedly being targeted, and residents will feel threatened by these potential cuts yet again. This cannot keep happening. Cities of a similar size in England, such as Preston, are served by two wholetime fire engines as well as other resources, like a Major Rescue Unit. Indeed, Newport in South Wales is served by three fire stations – each operating a wholetime service. I cannot understand why North Wales is losing out again.
“I sincerely hope that North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority take the views of the people of Wrexham into account, realise that these proposals are unworkable, and retain our current fire service provision. As there are bold proposals underway to grow the city of Wrexham, I am finding it difficult to comprehend how slashing coverage can be an option.”