Mebyon Kernow councillors spoke out against the proposed loss of the Cornwall Fire Control Centre, Tolvaddon, at a meeting of the unitary authority’s Neighbourhood Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 6th October. Statements from councillors Andrew Long, Matt Luke and Loveday Jenkin were included in a report on the Cornwall Live website.

The relevant sections were as follows:

Councillor Andrew Long highlighted that Cornwall Council was currently seeking more powers and responsibilities from Westminster in a county deal, adding: “It would be ridiculous to close or potentially close our control centre. We should not be giving up control of any of our public services as once lost you can never get them back.”

He added: “We would appeal to all members to reject any proposals to take away Cornwall’s fire control centre. Please show solidarity with the staff at Tolvaddon and the wider fire service.”

And he said: “What this service is about is about saving lives, it is not about pounds and pence, that can’t be the first issue on this. We must make sure that we have a service fit for the people of Cornwall and those who come down here, we need to make sure it is safe for the people who work there (at the fire service) as well.”

Councillor Loveday Jenkin raised concerns about the loss of local knowledge if the control centre is moved out of Cornwall. She highlighted that there are many areas which do not have street names, are not easily found on maps and that there are several locations in Cornwall which have the same or similar names.

And Councillor Matt Luke said the safety of people in Cornwall should be paramount: “The fire control centre is the heart of our fire service, if we lose it we lose the heart of our fire service. It is not just about money.”

The photograph is from the Cornwall Live website and the full report can be viewed on www.cornwalllive.com.