I made it very clear at the outset of the Greasby and Woodchurch consultation meetings and will do again at the Hoylake consultation meeting tonight that this consultation process is concerned only with the reasonableness of the proposal to limit the impact on response times from an operational perspective.

Anything else related to the appropriateness of one public building replacing another public building is a planning issue which in reality is the substantive issue of concern for Greasby residents and one for reasons which I will attempt to explain affects the Fire and Rescue Authority as much as it does the residents of Greasby.

The not insignificant numbers of people who have approached me following both of the consultation meetings held to date asking would we build on for example Pump Lane indicates to me that there is a general acceptance of the operational logic as advanced.

In answering their question it has allowed me to better articulate the current state of play for the Fire and Rescue Authority.

I have repeatedly advised I would be more than happy to pursue an option to build on the Green Belt/Urban Green Space land off Pump Lane, the Greasby side of West Kirby Road adjacent to Woodpecker Close or indeed just beyond Frankby Motors opposite the Church (which is probably the limit of where we would want to be towards West Kirby). We have previously raised all of these as options with our Planning colleagues in Wirral.

The issue for us (notwithstanding the actual availability of any of the aforementioned land and the owners willingness to sell) is that for as long as we have a non-Green Belt/Urban Green Space alternative i.e. the existing Library and Children’s Centre site we will not be able to demonstrate the special circumstances required to secure an exemption from planning restrictions.

This is the extant Wirral planning policy and is not something the Fire and Rescue Authority has any influence over.  

There have been no operational issues raised that I am aware of thus far that would change my position in terms of my recommendations to the Fire and Rescue Authority over the principle of closing Upton and West Kirby and building a new station in an appropriate location (from an operational response perspective) in Greasby bearing in mind that it is ultimately me that is held to account over operational response matters.

Clearly if there was then I would absolutely rethink my position.

What I will faithfully represent to the Fire and Rescue Authority however is the strong views of Greasby residents over the one site that has been made available to us.

I will also advise that the only way that I can see we could realistically pursue another location within the Greasby area is to submit a planning application which was then refused on the basis of local opposition (if indeed that is a reason to refuse a planning application and I honestly don’t know if it is).  

At that point we could then attempt to purchase land in the areas mentioned previously and if we could purchase the land, then submit a planning application.

Clearly if we couldn’t at that point we would then have no option but to close West Kirby outright but we would have done everything reasonably possible to achieve a less impactive outcome.

Dan Stephens, Chief Fire Officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

  • The next public consultation meeting will take place at Hoylake Parade Community Centre in Hoyle Road, Hoylake from 6pm to 7pm tonight, Thursday.