A FURTHER consultation is to be held on controversial plans to replace existing Wyre Forest fire stations with a single hub.

Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority has concluded its first public consultation on its proposal for the £5.9million Wyre Forest Emergency Services Hub.

But authority chiefs will now seek views on a proposed location for such a facility before making a final decision on whether the project should go ahead.

If approved, the hub would see the two Kidderminster crews and the retained Stourport and Bewdley stations relocated to one site which would also house police, ambulance and voluntary organisations.

Project manager Mark Preece said pressures to balance the budget, the chance to work together and share intelligence with other blue light services and a reduction in the number of call outs were driving factors for the proposal.

He added that the authority had secured a £2.4million ring-fenced Government grant towards the cost of a central hub while the remaining £3.5million would come from the sale of the three stations.

But the plan drew fierce criticism from residents, firefighters and representatives from the Fire Brigades’ Union who fear closing stations will result in longer response times and put lives at risk.

The results of the first consultation were presented in a report to the Authority. Those against the plan included firefighters from Stourport, Bewdley and one crew from Kidderminster, the FBU and people attending public meetings in the three Wyre Forest towns.

A 2,350 name petition, organised by Stourport fire fighters, was also handed in.

But the proposal was supported by organisations including Wyre Forest District Council and members of Public and Stakeholder forums.

Questionnaires sent out as part of the consultation brought back mixed results with some in favour of closer blue light collaboration and the creation of a single hub and some against the closure of the existing stations.

An alternative proposal calling for the retention of Kidderminster fire station and replacement of Stourport and Bewdley was also submitted.

The report said: “The consultation has been valuable in highlighting the key issues in respect of the proposals and in identifying the relative levels of support for the principles of working more closely with other emergency services and creating a single hub station.

“The outcomes are not unexpected: it is understandable that the public meetings found a considerable level of concern amongst communities in affected areas, and that the more in-depth consideration of the details of proposals in the forums provided a greater level of assurance and support.

“It is appreciated, however, that the evidence supporting the creation of a hub station would be better understood once a suitable site location has been chosen.

“Therefore, officers propose to undertake further analysis to identify the preferred site(s) having regard to response times, the availability of on-call firefighters, impact on the local area, cost and availability.”

“Officers will then report back to the Fire Authority on June 16 2016 for approval of a preferred site, prior to the second phase of public consultation. Following consultation, the Fire Authority will be recommended to make a final decision on the chosen site.”