A DECISION on whether to close Cleckheaton Fire Station and re-locate its crew to Birkenshaw will be made next Friday.

West Yorkshire Fire Authority made the proposal in June, and a public consultation was launched to gauge what people thought about the proposed move.

At a meeting of the Authority next Friday, members will be given an update on the responses to the consultation before being asked to back the closure plans.

As part of cost saving measures the Hightown Road station would be shut and a new annex built at the Service’s Birkenshaw headquarters, 2.8 miles away, to replace the facility.

Making the case for the move, the fire service says the current fire station, one of the oldest in West Yorkshire, is outdated, but it would cost £2.9 million to rebuild the station on the existing site.

Moving it to Birkenshaw would only cost £1.3m.

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And the Cleckheaton site could then be sold for an estimated £375,000.

No jobs are due to be lost through the move.

The survey took place mainly online due to Covid 19 restrictions, and members of the Fire Authority will be told that 233 people took part.

Of those 53 per cent disagreed with the plans, 40 per cent agreed and seven per cent were neutral.

Cleckheaton residents made up 148 of the responses, and of those 65 per cent were against the closure and 29 per cent in favour.

Concerns raised during the consultation included how the move would effect response times in Cleckheaton, increased response times to major incidents on the M62 and the loss of a community asset in Cleckheaton.

Some fear the move will increase traffic around the Birkenshaw headquarters, and some respondents claimed the plans were all about saving money.

The Fire Brigades Union responded to the consultation saying: "Although the current proposal does not involve losing any jobs or appliances it does propose to move resources from one location to another by 2.3 miles.

"What some may consider a minor change does have implications for some communities in Cleckheaton and surrounding areas by increasing the response times for them getting a fire appliance, therefore the Fire Brigades Union Believe the station should stay at its current location."

The fire service argues that as well as saving money, the move will actually improve response times in “some high and very high-risk areas.”

Cleckheaton Councillor Kath Pinnock (Lib Dem) said she would be writing to members of the committee before the meeting. She added: "I remain opposed to the move. It is the loss of another amenity in the town centre. The station has been there for many years and is involved in local events."

She also raised concerns about possible increased response times to incidents on the motorway system.

The Authority will make their decision at a virtual meeting that starts at 10.30am next Friday.