So in September 2014 the powers that be at West Sussex County Council decided in their infinite wisdom that in order to cut the budget of the County by £1.6 Million that one of the ways to do this was to remove the 3rd Fire Engine from Crawley and 10 retained Fire Fighters.
Now this seems completely crazy for 2 main reasons which are detailed below:
1st Main Reason - Crawley's Fire Service are at the heart of an expanding town in Crawley and the outskirts with new properties popping up on a regular basis not to mention the huge development of homes at Kilnwood Vale that will fall under their remit once completed so how can the logic possibly be that a crucial Life Saving piece of equipment is to be removed from an expanding town?
Not so long ago plans were being drawn up to move the Fire Station and Ambulance Station to a purpose built facility opposite Cheals Garden Center now the reality is that unless this is successfully challenged the 3rd engine will be taken away.
One other thought on this point is that I seem to have read about a lot more house fires in Crawley in the past 12 months than ever before so surely to take it back to basics and as crude as it sounds the Demand is there so we need to have the Supply.
2nd Main Reason - As I have mentioned in this blog a few times now Crawley is heavily reliant on Gatwick Airport and in turn the Airport is reliant on the town. In the event of an emergency Crawley Fire Service are the ones that turn up to support the Airport's own fire service and have done this for many years and were present just a few weeks ago when the Virgin flight had to land minus a set of wheels, if we take an appliance away this would mean less service for the public if they are having to attend a full scale emergency at Gatwick this is before you even start taking into account the amount of major fires they already assist with in other areas of West Sussex.
The simple fact is this! Crawley is an expanding town as it was always designed to be that was the purpose of the New Towns program so our infrastructure should be growing not being dismantled! My view on this is the same with or without the re development of Gatwick.
West Sussex County Council are officials elected by US the people that pay the tax that pay for these services, take into account how many new homes have gone up in Crawley alone and the amount of tax ££££'s this brings in before thinking about the rest of West Sussex? There most be more money than before to pay for these services! Surely the extra council tax from Kilnwood Vale alone would pay to keep the 3rd fire engine?
West Sussex County Council are virtually invisible I had no idea until recently how important they were to the services in Crawley and I do not feel this is made clear to Voters in the run up to the West Sussex elections, the fact is it should be a Democracy that works for the people and at the moment its not working for Crawley and as nobody is interested in soliciting the views of the very people who elect them in the first place on crucial issues like this we are left with no choice but to force our opinion on them!
Now this seems completely crazy for 2 main reasons which are detailed below:
1st Main Reason - Crawley's Fire Service are at the heart of an expanding town in Crawley and the outskirts with new properties popping up on a regular basis not to mention the huge development of homes at Kilnwood Vale that will fall under their remit once completed so how can the logic possibly be that a crucial Life Saving piece of equipment is to be removed from an expanding town?
Not so long ago plans were being drawn up to move the Fire Station and Ambulance Station to a purpose built facility opposite Cheals Garden Center now the reality is that unless this is successfully challenged the 3rd engine will be taken away.
One other thought on this point is that I seem to have read about a lot more house fires in Crawley in the past 12 months than ever before so surely to take it back to basics and as crude as it sounds the Demand is there so we need to have the Supply.
2nd Main Reason - As I have mentioned in this blog a few times now Crawley is heavily reliant on Gatwick Airport and in turn the Airport is reliant on the town. In the event of an emergency Crawley Fire Service are the ones that turn up to support the Airport's own fire service and have done this for many years and were present just a few weeks ago when the Virgin flight had to land minus a set of wheels, if we take an appliance away this would mean less service for the public if they are having to attend a full scale emergency at Gatwick this is before you even start taking into account the amount of major fires they already assist with in other areas of West Sussex.
The simple fact is this! Crawley is an expanding town as it was always designed to be that was the purpose of the New Towns program so our infrastructure should be growing not being dismantled! My view on this is the same with or without the re development of Gatwick.
West Sussex County Council are officials elected by US the people that pay the tax that pay for these services, take into account how many new homes have gone up in Crawley alone and the amount of tax ££££'s this brings in before thinking about the rest of West Sussex? There most be more money than before to pay for these services! Surely the extra council tax from Kilnwood Vale alone would pay to keep the 3rd fire engine?
West Sussex County Council are virtually invisible I had no idea until recently how important they were to the services in Crawley and I do not feel this is made clear to Voters in the run up to the West Sussex elections, the fact is it should be a Democracy that works for the people and at the moment its not working for Crawley and as nobody is interested in soliciting the views of the very people who elect them in the first place on crucial issues like this we are left with no choice but to force our opinion on them!
This is a very good article and sums up exactly what the ruling classes at West Sussex County Council think about Crawley.
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