Views wanted on fire merger

BEXHILL residents have been invited to have their say on a possible merger of East and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Services.

East Sussex Fire Authority and West Sussex County Council announced plans to hold the public consultation after a business case concluded a merger is the best option to protect services from the expected impacts of government grant reductions over the next few years.

The authorities have stated the proposed merger is not designed to reduce the number of fire stations or the level of operational capability. Merging would mean the creation of a new Combined Fire Authority (CFA) across Sussex.

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The 12-week public consultation began on July 14 and will run until October 6. Both organisations are encouraging as many people as possible to take part and have their say. Feedback from the consultation will be considered before a final decision is made.

A series of documents are available with information and members of the public are invited to complete an online questionnaire.

A public consultation document will be available in all main public libraries.

A final business case, including all of the outcomes from the public consultation as well as final information on the financial implications, will be presented to East Sussex Fire Authority and West Sussex County Council at meetings in December.

If agreed, a merger would still be subject to Government approval and would not be able to come into effect before April 1, 2013.

• Visit the website at: www.esfrs.org