Key meeting set for ending four Wiltshire fire stations

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority - which is comprised of 18 councillors from Swindon, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole councils - will decide whether to start consultation on the closure of four fire stations in Wiltshire, and four in Dorset.

Approval will bring the closure of the fire stations at Bradford on Avon, Mere, Ramsbury, and Wilton a step closer - along with job losses for the men and women who crew the stations.

A final decision will be made at the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority meeting in June.

If fire stations are shut, they will be the first closures in the decade-long history of the combined Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and - in Wiltshire at least - the first for decades before that.

Documents released ahead of the meeting show why Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue needs to make the savings, and how the eight fire stations were shortlisted out of the 50 stations operated by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue.

Declining central government funding is a major reason why the service has to find savings.

This year, the service has an annual budget of £79.5 million. £57.5 million comes from council tax, £7 million comes from business rates, and £12.8 million comes from government.

Over the next three years, the amount the service will receive from central government will go down - to £11.5 million in 2027/8 and £10.2 million in 2028/9.

Meanwhile, the amount the fire authority can increase the precept - the amount of funding that comes from council tax - is capped. Even a maximum increase of £5 per month for the average Band D household will not be enough to cover the government funding shortfall.

Wiltshire Fire Service merged with Dorset Fire Service in 2016, and since then the combined service has delivered £15 million in savings.

In the past three years alone, the service has saved £665,000 from corporate roles - that is, non-frontline jobs - along with £750,000 from non-salary budgets, £874,000 from wholetime posts, and £145,000 by changing the way it responds to automated fire alarms in commercial premises, with a "check first" approach.

Meanwhile, the service has faced increased costs. Twelve wholetime posts were added to Amesbury fire station - which was deemed to be "under resourced" given the growing population - and making Westlea fire station in Swindon a wholetime station - meaning it is crewed around the clock.

Rising costs including National Insurance contributions and nationally-agreed pay settlements also have to be factored in.

The documents show that members of a Fire Authority working group shortlisted the eight fire stations for closure almost a year ago, in March 2025.

The authority has employed a "risk-based" approach, looking at factors including the size of population each station serves, the nearest alternative fire stations, the average number of incidents attended, and the increase in response times should a station close.

At Bradford on Avon, there are 11 firefighters with one fire engine serving a population of 14,419. As a five-year average, crews have attended 61 local incidents a year.

The closest fire stations are in Trowbridge, Melksham and Corsham - and the proximity to other stations has been a major consideration in its potential closure. After closure, average response times would increase from 10 minutes 4 seconds to 12 minutes 46 seconds.

Closing the station would save £278,170 a year.

Mere has seven firefighters and one engine serving a population of 6,762. Crews have attended an average of 37 local incidents a year.

The closest fire stations are at Gillingham, Shaftsbury, and Warminster. After closure, average response times would increase from 12 minutes 12 seconds to 17 minutes 7 seconds

Closing the station would save £211,909 a year.

Ramsbury has six firefighters with one engine serving a population of 5,309. It has attended an average of 10 local incidents a year.

Its nearest fire stations are at Marlborough, Swindon, and Stratton. After closure, average response times would increase from 15 minutes 58 seconds to 21 minutes 42 seconds

Closing the station would save £165,355 a year.

Wilton has 13 firefighters with one fire engine and one water carrier for a population of 12,751 people. It has attended an average of 10 local incidents a year.

Its nearest fire stations are at Salisbury, Amesbury, and Tisbury. After closure, average response times would increase from 10 minutes 52 seconds to 11 minutes 50 seconds.

Closing the station would save £233,764 a year.

If all eight stations are closed firefighters at Trowbridge would find themselves attending an estimated 10 additional incidents a month, with seven extra in Salisbury, two in Pewsey, and one each at Swindon, Stratton, and Warminster.