The closure of Balmossie fire station could save more than £1 million but lead to redundancies and increased response times, an internal document has revealed.
It was confirmed last week that the Broughty Ferry station is at risk of being shut by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).
It comes after a review was carried out into their resources, including numbers of staff, appliances, and stations.
Another option on the table is the downgrading of Balmossie station.
This would mean removing the wholetime appliance, leaving it with just one on-call appliance.
Both options would see the reinstatement of a second pump at the Kingsway East station.
This was temporarily withdrawn in September 2023.
Balmossie station site could be sold
An options scoring appraisal carried out by the SFRS – seen by The Courier – reveals how much the service could save if Balmossie is shut.
The report details that a full closure could lead to the “reduction and redirection” of £1.3m in annual running costs.
There is also a potential £800,000 that could come from the sale of the site.
The downgrading of Balmossie could lead to the “reduction and redirection” of £1.1m in annual running costs.
The scoring appraisal also detailed the fire service’s rational for proposing to shut Balmossie station.
It outlines that “analysis has identified that operational risk is relatively low across the east of Dundee and Monifieth”.
It adds: “Balmossie is poorly located on the road network which limits the operational area which it typically covers.
“Analysis of operational demand and modelling have identified an imbalance in station resources across the east of Dundee City and Monifieth.”
However, the appraisal admits the closure of Balmossie could lead to potential redundancy for on-call staff “unable to relocate, retrain or be redeployed”.
There will also be an increase in response times within the Balmossie Fire Station area.
Closure would be ‘catastrophic’
Speaking to The Courier, union representative Craig Maclachlan questioned the rationale of the proposals.
He said: “Our worry is that the downgrading of it makes no sense (financially).
“To me, the most likely outcome is closure – which would be catastrophic for the area.
“We are stretched at the moment as it is and to take away more doesn’t make any sense.”
A 12-week consultation is now being being held which will allow the public to have their say on the proposals.
This can be accessed via firescotland.gov.uk.
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