Notices of Motion (part 2 of 3)

Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, I spent the last few years sitting on planning committees and now on the growth infrastructure and housing committee. I speak with the perspective of someone who's watched Beaconsfield and our county transform and who is deeply concerned about what is about to happen. Now, the Fire Authority says these cuts are not cuts. Let me be clear, they are cuts. And I'll tell you why. The facts are simple. The Fire Authority has a £40 million budget. They have a £1 million underspend. They have £50 million in reserves. There is no financial need for these changes. None. Yet, they're proposing to remove five engines from our service. Six across Buckinghamshire, one from Beaconsfield. They're not replacing these engines with new engines. There is no investment plan. There are no replacement vehicles. Just removal. This is a cut. They are saying they're modernising the on -call service. But in reality, they've given up on trying to recruit firefighters. Rather than invest in recruitment, retention and training, which is what the previous Fire Authority asked for, they are removing capacity. And they're doing this at a precise moment when our county is growing faster than ever. And I've said through planning committees approving development after development in our county. In Beaconsfield, the Wilton Park scheme will bring 350 new homes. Red Road is planning 200 more. Beechcroft is trying to build 200 additional homes. They want over 700 new families moving into Beaconsfield. Simultaneously, a 300 megawatt data centre and power plant is being proposed on the A40. This is not a traditional industrial unit. We have the NFTS in our area, a major cultural institution with unique risk. We have multiple schools, five primary schools and two secondary schools. We have the M40, a busy motorway running throughout the area with the Beaconsfield services junction 2. With all that traffic, Beaconsfield fire station is the hub that holds and protects all of this together. Our station covers a diverse area that includes urban, residential and industrial zones. It provides rapid response across Woburn, Flatbail Heave, Seagreen, Pan and Lough Water. When we reduce the resources at Beaconsfield, we're not just affecting Beaconsfield, we're affecting South Buckinghamshire. The fire authorities' analysis is based on historical data. They say 12 fire engines can handle most of the demand, but they have built to model what happens when you add 700 new homes, a major data centre, power station, ongoing construction activity and all the growth that we're seeing to that equation. What about buildings? What about buildings? All the buildings across the county? They propose to replace our standard fire engine with a crew welfare vehicle. They say that one engine will be enough. But what happens when that one fire engine is deployed somewhere else? What happens when we have multiple simultaneous incidents? Motorway accidents, data centre fires, ordinary household fires? This is not just about Beaconsfield. Colleagues who represent the areas around Beaconsfield need to understand what these proposals mean for your constituents. Beaconsfield's fire station provides cover for your wards. When Beaconsfield's fire station loses a fire engine, your community loses it too. So let me be clear about what we're asking for. We're not asking to block all change. We're asking for the fire authority to withdraw these specific proposals and return with a plan that is generally fit for the future with all the buildings that this Labour government wants to build. A plan that accounts for the future with all the way. A plan that accounts for the future with all the areas across the county. A plan that accounts for major industrial development data centres and film studios. A plan that does not remove fire cover from us at the moment of maximum growth and maximum risk. A plan that invests in recruitment and retention rather than giving up on it. A plan that makes sense given the £1 million underspent and £15 million in reserve. A plan that continues to protect our residents. This, my friends and colleagues, is about leadership. This is about thinking ahead for our residents and our businesses. This is about ensuring that as we build our future for our area, we do not compromise the safety of the people who live within it. The fire authority says that these are not cuts, but they are. And we have a statutory duty to say so clearly and to speak up for our residents and businesses. Thank you. Thank you.