Rayleigh MP Mark Francois visited Essex Fire and Rescue Headquarters last Friday (4th September) and appealed to Fire Service Bosses to delay the impending closure of the Fire Station in Castle Road, Rayleigh, at least until the road-works being carried out by the North London Gas Alliance are completed in the Spring of next year.
Mark, who objected to the original decision to close Rayleigh Fire Station, met with the Chief Fire Officer, David Johnson and several of his senior officers as well as a number of Councillors of the Essex Fire Authority, led by their Chairman, Councillor Tony Hedley. The meeting discussed the situation at Rayleigh in some detail, including the fact that fire engines seeking to reach Rayleigh from the new fire station at Rayleigh Weir, even though crewed by full time fire fighters, might still experience significant delay until the road-works along Rayleigh High Road leading down to the Rayleigh Weir roundabout are completed.
As a result of this, Mark asked the leaders of the Fire Service if they could at least delay the closure of the old station at Castle Road until the road-works are completed, on grounds of safety. The Fire Chiefs agreed to consider Mark’s request and promised to come back to him with a reply within the next few weeks.
Commenting on the meeting, Rayleigh MP Mark Francois said:
“Although I objected to the original proposal to close the fire station on Castle Road, the Fire Service are building a new station at the Rayleigh Weir which is now due to open in October and so it is clear that they are not going to reverse their decision. Nevertheless, given all of the problems which we have experienced due to the road-works in Rayleigh, I am genuinely concerned about the delays that fire engines from the new station might experience in getting into Rayleigh until the road-works are completed. So I have asked our Fire Chiefs if they can take this into account and at least keep Castle Road open until the road-works are finished. Imagine for instance, a fire engine from Rayleigh Weir trying to fight its way in rush hour traffic through the road-works and contra flows and you can see how difficult this might be. I do hope they will take this request seriously and that the closure of Castle Road may yet be delayed as a result.”
