Hamilton fire station’s second appliance is being permanently withdrawn from the Bothwell Road facility, nearly three years after it was first temporarily removed amid a budget deficit and nationwide service review.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) board members this week approved the plans for Lanarkshire, which also include switching the second appliance at Cumbernauld to dayshift-only staffing with on-call provision at evenings and weekends.
The decision forms part of an “extensive” wider year-long review aiming to “modernise the service and ensure operational resources are matched to changing risk and demand” – while the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) says public consultation “resulted in widespread opposition to the cuts” and Joe Fagan MSP saying the Hamilton outcome “flies in the face of the community’s wishes”.
Hamilton fire station had two engines until September 2023, when it became one of 10 stations across the country to have an appliance temporarily withdrawn – with the number of firefighters based at Bothwell Road reducing from 45 to 30 as a result.
SFRS has always reiterated that the station remains staffed 24 hours per day, seven days a week, and told the Hamilton Advertiser last year: “There is no option to change Hamilton’s appliance from 24/7 cover.”
The station’s second rescue pump will now not be reinstated after board members agreed the option to permanently reduce Hamilton to one appliance and move one of the Cumbernauld engines to a combination of dayshift and on-call provision – rather than a second Lanarkshire option which would have reintroduced Hamilton’s second engine on a dayshift basis and introduced a nucleus crew of firefighters at Lesmahagow.
The move to dayshift for the second appliance at Cumbernauld will also allow roof repair works to be carried out at the Lanarkshire station, which is one of four SFRS bases to be impacted by collapse-risk aerated concrete (RAAC) in its building.
More than 2000 people signed a 2023 petition against the removal of Hamilton’s second appliance, while firefighters staged a demonstration outside the town’s council headquarters and hundreds of people attended public consultation events in Hillhouse and Lesmahagow last summer.
South Lanarkshire Council had submitted an alternative proposal to the official consultation, calling both for the reintroduction of the second Hamilton appliance and asking that it be continuously crewed by dayshift and on-call firefighters, saying it would “better meet current and evolving demand” from housebuilding and town-centre regeneration and highlighting “Hamilton’s more central location within Lanarkshire” and proximity to the M74.
SFRS board chair Mhairi Wylie said: “The service delivery review is about ensuring that resources across Scotland are used to best meet risk and demand, ensuring parity and fairness across communities.
“We recognise the strength of feeling that exists in some communities – we take this extremely seriously and the public consultation has been invaluable in shaping the recommendations and decisions. We have listened to the concerns raised, and we will continue to closely monitor the impact of any changes.
“These decisions have been taken with community safety and firefighter safety as the primary considerations, while delivering best value for the people of Scotland. We believe these changes are transparent, evidence-led, legally robust and operationally deliverable.”
Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “The review is a critical programme to modernise how we work and deliver long-term sustainability; its primary purpose is to ensure that we meet emerging risk and demand while enabling us to address urgent property issues.
“We recognise that this process has been challenging and, at times, emotive for our staff and communities where changes are proposed.
“There have been extensive efforts to engage with staff and communities to fully understand their views. We have taken great care to analyse the feedback received and ensured it has been given thorough and considered attention.”
South Scotland representative Mr Fagan, who was until last month the leader of South Lanarkshire Council before being elected to Holyrood, said the “controversial review has led to restructuring and downgrades in key services”.
The MSP said: “The people of South Lanarkshire are losing out on a 24/7 fully-crewed fire engine. The temporary decision to take an appliance away from the Hamilton fire station has been made permanent.”
He noted the Hamilton proposal attracted “community opposition to the loss of a fire appliance, including a council motion backed on a cross-party basis”, and said of the decision: “This flies in the face of the community’s wishes. I am calling on government ministers and fire service bosses to come to South Lanarkshire to explain themselves.”
FBU officials say their Scottish committee will meet this week following the board decisions – which also include closure of five long-term dormant stations and consulting on a further three, construction of two new stations plus further permanent removals of appliances and redeployment of more than 60 staff from “areas with lower operational demand”.
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They will plan their response to the “swingeing cuts”, with regional secretary John McKenzie saying; “The service has already lost almost 1250 jobs since its formation in 2013 and these proposals will result in more posts going unfilled, stations closed, fire appliances withdrawn, response times increased and a downgrade of fire cover, all of which will result in greater risk to lives, property and the natural environment.”
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