Suffolk fire service control room to return to the county after ten years in Cambridgeshire
The facility was moved to a shared building in Cambridgeshire in 2011
Suffolk County Councillors have approved plans to bring a local fire service control room back to the county - after more than a decade.
This comes after the facility was moved to a shared building in Cambridgeshire in 2011.
Cllr Andrew Reid, the chair of the fire authority, expressed his disappointment in the collaboration and the delivery of its projects.
He said: “While we may express our concerns about the development of the platform, we have no decision-making at all.
“I have been led to question what the spirit of collaboration actually entails.”
In 2019, both services agreed to a two-year project to replace and upgrade the system’s existing technology.
Four years after the agreement, however, due to financial instability on the part of the French company providing the new technology, the project is yet to be delivered.
During yesterday’s cabinet meeting, councillors discussed the split between the two authorities despite the relationship having been key during the spate of wildfires last year.
Cllr Reid added: “Continuing with the current project poses an unacceptable to those we are bound to protect.
“This risk should be mitigated as soon as possible — Suffolk must have its own determination and our concerns cannot be subordinated.”
During the meeting, several worries were raised regarding the price and viability of the new plans, which would see a fully operational dedicated Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) system be implemented by December 2024.
The new project requires an increase in the SFRS revenue budget at a time when Suffolk County Council faces serious financial pressures. In fact, the Fire and Rescue & Public Safety revenue budget is already forecasted to be £699,000 over the line.
In addition, it remained unclear whether the project and its financial consequences would result in the closing down of stations and job losses.
But councillors reaffirmed the project should be considered on terms beyond its financial burden.
Cllr Richard Rout, the cabinet member for finance and environment, said: “I would like to reassure you that we take the protection of fire services with the utmost seriousness.
“This is not solely a financial decision, we are duty-bound to keep Suffolk residents safe.”
Cllr Matthew Hicks, the leader of the council, added: “To make this decision is against our normal mould — we’re doing it for good reasons.
“We don’t take it lightly, but we do have to make people safe in Suffolk.”