It has been a long struggle but after five years of hard work, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead may have finally secured a deal that will see Windsor Fire Station stay open at night.  I am delighted!

 

Although it is clearly not the most ideal situation, which would have been no change to the service at all, the Council have managed to negotiate a deal with the Fire Authority which would see fire cover maintained in the Windsor area 24 hours a day.  It would be with a smaller engine but would mean there would at least be some coverage at night.

 

Having campaigned alongside them for many years, and secured debates in Parliament to help raise the profile of the issue, I know how hard the local Council have fought to keep the station open.  Despite numerous setbacks, such as their bid under the Sustainable Communities Act to take over the station being rejected, they have never given up and continued to investigate other avenues of keeping fire cover in the area.

 

The proposal will now go to full public consultation and I want to urge every local resident with an interest in this issue to make their views known. 

 

This is a major step forward and I just hope the consultation shows the Authority how vital night time cover is in Windsor and the strength of feeling among residents.