ANGRY union chiefs say lives have been put “at risk” after the Fire Authority approved controversial plans to axe community stations in favour of a Wyre Forest Emergency Services Hub.

Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority gave the green light to the £5.9 million facility at their meeting on Tuesday morning (October 11).

Their decision followed an extensive 10-week consultation on the location of the hub – either Silverwoods Park or Stourpoint 5, both located on Stourport Road, in Kidderminster - and a full 12-week consultation on the principle of the hub.

The hub will see the closure of all three town’s individual fire stations, with the two Kidderminster fire crews and the retained Stourport and Bewdley crews’ relocating to the one site – which would also house police, ambulance and voluntary organisations.

But, Fire Brigade Union (FBU) chiefs have slammed the decision, arguing it would increase response times by two-and-a-half minutes putting lives of residents and firefighters “at risk”.

However, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service say 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 facility.

Steve Gould, from the FBU, said: “This is an extremely disappointing decision that is putting the lives of residents and firefighters at greater risk.

“By closing fire stations in Stourport and Bewdley, they are increasing response times by two-and-a-half minutes.

“Fire and smoke spreads very quickly and that extra time will see firefighters facing far more severe incidents.

“Throughout the whole process, we have said that the safety of the public and our crews is of paramount importance. But this new facility will not provide that safety.

“Retained firefighters will have to negotiate heavy traffic to travel from Stourport and Bewdley to get to the new base in Kidderminster. This now goes against the service’s own policy of retained firefighters living within five minutes of their station.

“The FBU also believes the consultation process has not been conducted correctly. There should have been a separate consultation exercise asking people in Stourport whether they agree with the loss of a station in the town.

“Stourport is a large retained station and was not on the authority’s ‘at risk’ list. The FBU has raised a collective grievance about this.”

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service chief officer, Nathan Travis, said: “The Fire Authority has considered the results from the recent consultation and have now decided on a location for the hub. This will be publicly disclosed in due course, once negotiations have taken place.

“This a positive step for the service and for the people of Wyre Forest.

“The hub has a whole host of benefits including increased joint training opportunities, improved management of a broader range of community risks and ultimately a more resilient prevention, protection and emergency response function across the three communities of Kidderminster, Stourport and Bewdley.”

The hub successfully secured £2.38 million of government funding back in 2013.