CHESHIRE Fire will not cut staff at the newly opened Penketh Fire Station but plans to review jobs at Birchwood Fire Station have been approved.

Following a public consultation, which ran from October 2016 until January, the fire service has announced it will delay plans to change the on-call rota at Penketh until next year.

Andrew Fox-Hewitt, secretary of The Fire Brigades Union in Cheshire which fought the proposals, said he was ‘delighted’ by Cheshire Fire’s response to the consultation.

He said: “Thankfully our concerns were listened too, and for now at least, Penketh Fire Station, along with others, will be safe for another 12 months.

“The attendance times in Cheshire are getting slower and slower, more people are getting injured and we have seen a very worrying increase in the number of people losing their life in fire related incidents.

“We know the fight isn’t over – it never is – but these are great successes we should be proud of, and we hope the positive dialogue with the fire authority will continue as we look to work together to improve the service.”

Cheshire Fire also put the brakes on plans to reduce the number of hydraulic platforms available from three to two.

But proposals to review staffing at Birchwood Fire Station and to increase the service’s council tax precept by 1.99 per cent were approved.

Just over 48 per cent of respondents in Warrington agreed with plans to look at changing the number of staff on duty but 38 per cent of fire employees objected to the proposal.

And 71.6 per cent of residents supported the tax rise.

The council tax increase equates to £1.43 extra a year from residents in band D homes. Ninety-two per cent of people who had their say on Cheshire Fire’s plans said they were happy with the service.

Chair of Cheshire Fire, Cllr Bob Rudd, said: “We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to our consultation we have considered all of the feedback received and are now preparing to implement our updated plan from April 1.

“Like many other public services, we are facing some challenging times ahead but we believe our plan maintains a strong focus on both the safety of our communities and our firefighters.”

To view the consultation outcome in full visit cheshirefire.gov.uk/about-us.