One of the "concessions" made by the West Yorkshire Fire Authority was to support Haworth Parish Councils expression of interest in maintaining the station as a community asset,
that is run by and for the local community.
Below are some minutes of the meeting sent to us by John Moak of the Fire Brigades Union.
Councilor John Huxley chaired the meeting(JH)
JH outlined the WYFRS IRMP and indicated that meetings had taken place between the deputy chief fire officer and the council.
Because of these meetings the closure of Haworth Fire Station had been deferred for a period of two years.
This was to enable the Parish Council to carry out a feasibility study and meet with key partners.
WYFRS had discussed the lease /sale of the building, loan of equipment and training.
The idea of an emergency response centre was mentioned and intention of contacting the Police,Calder valley mountain rescue and the ambulance service.
Both Keighley and Oxenhope councils had been contacted..
JH indicated that if the villagers present agreed, a group was to be formed that would report back by 1-12-13 on whether or not the project was a feasible one.
Some of the questions the group would seek answers to would be-
Will there be enough volunteers of trained personnel,
The financial cost, we may all have to share.
The Haworth Fire station personnel to be consulted ASAP
Chris Hopkins MP, the Prime Minister and Eric Pickles MP all to be contacted.
JH This is our idea, if we don’t do something, the fire cover will be reduced..
Councillor Angel ... The fire cover is in our hands
Councillor........... It will cost
Councilor Mitchell(Oakworth) Explained that some of his remote hamlets were also covered by Haworth and he pledged his full support.
Public.....Where is the funding going to come from ?
JH......... I see the funding coming from Chris Hopkins ,government, localism and the big society
We have to do something.
Public Insurance for the Fire fighters would have to be linked to WYFRS.
We are not allowed to have a fire service, that’s why we are going for a first responder service..
Private fire services will be looked at as will industrial fire services.
Councillor Hill We have a two year reprieve for the feasibility study, no one has done this before, and we have to explore the feasibility. If we explore the possibilities we will find out yes or no.
JH Indicated that it would probably take a village referendum to make the final decision.
C.Hill Lets get the options on the table
Public........ What were the other options
JH ..... We have to talk to Bradford council
Public( Our own Joe O'Keefe ) explained the reality of the situation, you will not be getting trained Breathing apparatus wearers to carry out rescues your volunteers will probably only be qualified to squirt water at the job.
The council should be applauded but please channel your efforts in to trying to save what you have got now
Public£350,000 the cost of Haworth Fire Station, how many residents do we have, we have to explore ways of raising extra revenue
Councilor R Our police station closed but we got it back, if we can hang on to the building we may get something back..
Public .....outlined the skills of the job, and that it was right that you were concerned, please fight for your service and your pump.
JH Indicated that the time had come for the villagers to make their decision.
Are you prepared to let us form a group to explore the possibility and also the possibility of a referendum?
Public A unanimous vote of Yes,
Public reminded the group of the importance of keeping the infrastructure.
Kath indicated that the Haworth appliance had been busy of late
You should be applauded, a round of applause followed.
..........................................................................................................................................................
But what about the station cat at Howarth - will she be considered in the "fursability study" ?
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| Howarth Station Cat - homeless? |
If you would like more background information about Howarth please click HERE
Response time are available HERE
If you are interested in the "bigger picture" of fire cuts across the UK please read Save Our Fire Service - its not just West Yorkshire these cuts will affect - the site is available HERE
For more information about West Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union, please click HERE
Its a kneejerk reaction to a problem. Put your energy into saving the jobs and the station, not on promoting tory initiatives.!!!!!
ReplyDeleteVolunteers = unpaid slave labour
It costs i understand 350,000 to run the station for a year. Delaying the closure will cost money, which wyfrs reckon is in short supply, they are delaying the closure and humouring the parish council, whereas in Keighley in two weeks they lose a pump. Publicise keighleys plight Miss covell, they need your publicity skills much much more.
Its a kneejerk reaction to a problem. Put your energy into saving the jobs and the station, not on promoting tory initiatives.!!!!!
ReplyDeleteVolunteers = unpaid slave labour
It costs i understand 350,000 to run the station for a year. Delaying the closure will cost money, which wyfrs reckon is in short supply, they are delaying the closure and humouring the parish council, whereas in Keighley in two weeks they lose a pump. Publicise keighleys plight Miss covell, they need your publicity skills much much more.
We are aware of the situation at Keighley but thank you for reminding us.
DeleteThe evidence indicates Howarth can do without a fire station but if they want one then why shouldn't they vote to pay for it locally and what's wrong with self help community volunteers firefighting for free - that's how it works in most of America Australia etc
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that WYFRS backed down and has postponed the closure for two years is evidence its very much needed. Why be screaming they need to reduce revenue funding then commit to the best part of a million to keep her open?
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that WYFRS backed down and has postponed the closure for two years is evidence its very much needed. Why be screaming they need to reduce revenue funding then commit to the best part of a million to keep her open?
ReplyDeleteTwisted logic that and why have you thought of a number and doubled it as it costs nothing like 500k a year to run Howarth. If it did parish council would have no chance of running it themselves
ReplyDeleteNo i am not known for pulling figures out of fresh air, i will dig out where i got it from.
ReplyDeleteIts a big hole you will he digging because I can tell you it costs just over 200000 pounds a year to run Howarth fire station so you obviously did think of a figure and doubled it. All these lies and distortions are why you and Joe 90 have no credibility because you can't recognise the truth when you are caught out Pedal back to Leeds where they seem to have plenty money to spsre
ReplyDeleteSpineless Anonymous now making up a funny alias for someone who puts his name to his comments.
ReplyDeleteI have plenty of credibility thanks and you cannot show me one inaccurate stat or figure I have posted.
West Yorkshire Fire Service principal officers have said it costs £350,000 per year to run Haworth Station, so when you say "just over £200,000, do you mean £150,000 over
Funny that the Keighley news quotes those same officers saying it costs just over 200000 a year to run - where do you and miss c get your numbers from alice in wonderland ? Even on your figures you have inflated the bill by 40 per cent which just shows how careless you are with the truth when it suits
ReplyDeleteI attended all 3 public consultation meetings in Keighley. At each of them the senior officer attending stated that it costs £350,000 per year to run Haworth Station.
ReplyDeleteIf you look on this site at the minutes of Haworth Parish Council meeting (15/10/12) The Fire Service Senior Officer stated it costs £300,000
So I'm careless with the truth?
Certainly not, I am only using figures from Senior Officers, so maybe someone else is careless with the truth.
I hope your £200,000 figure is accurate because that supports my arguement to keep Haworth open, far more than £350,000 does.
Think about it, if you want to close it say it costs more than it does.
I have to say thanks for helping our cause on this occasion. Can you prove your £200,000 figure, it looks like the people of Haworth have been mislead?
Read the Keighley news for 5 January - how can 12 part time firefighters cost 350,000 a year - do the sums
ReplyDeleteYou could try spelling HAWORTH correctly??
ReplyDeleteFigures are available on the freedom of information act website... Varies between 150k to 200k per year.
ReplyDeleteSTATION COSTS
ReplyDeleteFinancial year 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008
DESCRIPTION HAWORTH HAWORTH HAWORTH HAWORTH HAWORTH
Employees £159,594.32 £185,868.58 £91,693.35 £90,340.26 £88,850.88
Premise Related Expenses £9,255.28 £8,224.00 £9,398.76 £11,495.10 £6,899.59
Tranport Related Expenses £611.56 £2,741.77 £34.82 £134.07 £495.25
Supplies & Services £1,821.01 £944.13 £2,070.67 £1,210.08 £1,292.41
Support Costs £59,410.23 £103,571.41 £77,722.50 £77,147.82 £69,361.22
Capital Charges £3,599.60 £3,588.89 £3,551.74 £3,669.34 £3,303.08
Income -£375.00 -£719.68 -£750.00 -£1,452.66
TOTAL £233,917.00 £304,219.10 £183,721.84 £183,996.67 £168,749.77
STATION COSTS
Financial year 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008
DESCRIPTION ILKLEY ILKLEY ILKLEY ILKLEY ILKLEY
Employees £160,748.71 £154,610.85 £125,589.35 £124,723.35 £113,185.64
Premise Related Expenses £14,286.04 £13,571.96 £17,892.87 £20,183.01 £12,822.01
Tranport Related Expenses £1,414.70 £1,262.36 £1,255.16 £1,339.00 £818.07
Supplies & Services £1,419.53 £2,101.19 £3,695.49 £2,933.59 £1,184.25
Support Costs £67,799.59 £93,807.15 £96,173.22 £94,038.30 £78,119.27
Capital Charges £12,326.01 £12,729.88 £12,935.44 £13,132.97 £12,363.59
Income -£1,226.54 -£741.73 -£208.00 -£543.70 £869.16
TOTAL £256,768.04 £277,341.66 £257,333.53 £255,806.52 £219,361.99
STATION COSTS
Financial year 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008
DESCRIPTION SILSDEN SILSDEN SILSDEN SILSDEN SILSDEN
Employees £184,232.54 £182,654.60 £169,254.83 £167,291.04 £171,331.94
Premise Related Expenses £10,869.11 £10,972.45 £10,484.22 £9,605.28 £13,552.76
Tranport Related Expenses £4,048.58 £2,058.27 £2,171.40 £2,158.26 £1,568.11
Supplies & Services £5,455.30 £3,572.47 £1,682.94 £1,808.04 £1,322.92
Support Costs £80,471.55 £147,798.81 £155,355.18 £146,452.80 £139,773.90
Capital Charges £9,159.81 £9,415.34 £9,084.73 £9,570.43 £9,496.45
Income -£667.88 -£659.16 -£3,199.65 -£3,240.51 -£4,265.86
TOTAL £293,569.01 £355,812.78 £344,833.65 £333,645.34 £332,780.22