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GREEN SUPPORT FOR TRISERVICE |
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20th September 2007
Full Council this evening passed a motion for the Government to scrap
plans to close Gloucestershire's Fire Control. After a lively exchange
Greens, Conservatives and Lib Dems councillors supported the motion and
Labour councillors opposed.
Cllr Martin Whiteside, the Green party's parliamentary candidate for Stroud and District councillor for Thrupp said: "I was among the first voices raised several years ago in support of retaining Gloucestershires' fire control centre at Quedgeley. However I have been saddened by the politicisation of the debate this evening: it will put people off politics."
Cllr Philip Booth said: "Green policy is about maintaining local services. We agree with the fire service representatives and experts that the regionalisation of fire control rooms will lead to a poorer service where potentially life-saving local knowledge is no longer available. It is crazy to have a Fire Chief seventy odd miles from his control staff. Plus there are dangers in relying on Satelitte Navigation Systems. This state-of-the-art TriService centre has proven it's worth in the recent floods why change to a centralised system where there is no evidence that it will lead to a better or indeed cheaper service."
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