We are welcoming views on our work to continue to deliver services within our available resources.
At its meeting in February, East Sussex Fire Authority requested an options appraisal for Mayfield On-Call Community Fire Station. The station has been assessed on the basis of its contribution to overall Service resilience, the availability of its crew, the risk profile of the local area, incident activity and neighbouring fire station/appliance(s) capability.
The full report can be read here: 240208 CFA Budget REPORT.pdf (moderngov.co.uk)
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service does more than simply respond to emergencies. It works to prevent emergencies from happening in the first place, and to protect people and property.
We aim to do this by managing our resources, our budget and our people as effectively as possible. Achieving this is becoming more and more difficult at a time of increased demand in some areas, such as supporting the ambulance service. Alongside this, the risks faced by our communities are also changing, and it has become harder to recruit on-call firefighters who can provide emergency cover at the times we need them most.
The Fire Authority keeps it management of community risk including its fire stations and appliances under constant review. Information on the community risk management process can be found on our Community Risk Management page.
The forecast funding gap faced by the Fire Authority for 2025/26 is between £1.884m and £2.536m. Savings of £14.047m have been or are planned to be taken between the period of 2010/11 and 2028/29. This still leaves the Fire Authority with a shortfall and it is now necessary to consider the future of our response locations.
As part of the options appraisal process, we are seeking your views. An online survey can be found here, or you can reply via email to consult@esfrs.org. You can also use this email address if you would like this information in a different format.
Please can you ensure your responses are made by 30 April 2024.
We would welcome views on:
- What do you consider the main risks to be in your local area?
- Are there any local issues or impacts you feel we need to be aware of?
- What information do you think we need to consider in developing the options?
- What are the factors we need to consider when taking the options appraisal out to public consultation?
- What other ideas can you suggest for us to meet our financial challenges?
If you would like to be kept informed of this work, please subscribe to our newsletter. You can do this online at East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (list-manage.com). or you can email your details into consult@esfrs.org.
FAQs
Why Mayfield?
We have previously assessed stations on the basis of their contribution to overall Service resilience, their availability, crewing profile, the risk profile of the local area, incident activity and neighbouring fire station/appliance(s) capability.
Further to this, earlier this year we carried out a high-level review which considered:
- Population and social demographic and built environment data;
- Current activity;
- Number of critical incidents within each station area;
- Time it takes for the fire appliance to attend incidents;
- Current fire appliance availability;
- Opportunities for securing firefighters within close proximity to the stations.
This options appraisal will consider a number of factors including the fire station’s contribution to overall service risk reduction and resilience, and proposed arrangements for maintaining public safety in the area currently served by Mayfield.
What do we mean by risk?
Risk is the assessment of the likelihood of an event occurring coupled with the potential severity if that event occurs. The impact of incidents is often wider than just those directly involved. For example, a fire in a business will have a knock-on effect to staff, customers, suppliers and the wider community.
We want to reduce the risk, the likelihood and the consequence, for all those who may be affected by an incident.
We bring together data and intelligence to look for patterns and trends. We also use our professional judgement and experience of the service, of partners and Government, alongside both national and local risk registers.
Why make any changes?
By law we must produce a balanced budget. This means we cannot spend more than we receive. The forecast funding gap faced by the Fire Authority for 2025/26 is between £1.884m and £2.536m. Savings of £14.047m have been or are planned to be taken between the period of 2010/11 and 2028/29. This still leaves the Fire Authority with a shortfall and we must now consider other proposals.
What happens next?
Replies to these questions will be used in the options appraisal. The Fire Authority will consider the full options appraisal at its meeting on the 13 of June 2024 and if agreed those options will be subject to a full twelve week public consultation starting in June 2024 and finishing in September 2024. Findings would then be reported to the Fire Authority.
Can I take part if I don’t live or work in Mayfield?
Anyone can respond to the survey. We are keen that the voices of local people are heard and so this is targeted particularly at those individuals and local groups. In order to help us, please answer the survey question which asks for your postcode.