PEOPLE have until the end of Friday, December 4, to take part in a public consultation over cuts to the fire service in Hampshire which could see crew levels reduced at fire stations in Grayshott, Liphook, Bordon, and Petersfield.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue service, faces a £12million deficit over the next four years on its annual £65m budget.

Grayshott village’s retained fire crew based at the Headley Road fire station is one of those under threat under a “risk review” and is part of Hampshire’s proposals to cut jobs and introduce smaller “intermediate response vehicles”.

Proposals approved by the service’s governing body, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (HFRA), include cutting 225 jobs from the workforce of around 1,200 through “natural wastage”, throughout the county.

The authority suggests cutting full-time and retained posts, although all 51 stations will remain open.

Grayshott Fire Station, at present manned by up to 12 retained firefighters at a time, risks having a team of eight on call with a smaller appliance, which the authority estimates could improve average response times and save around £28,000 a year.

It serves a population of 5,370 and responds to emergencies at the Hindhead tunnel, backing up Haslemere fire station teams. But the authority says there were just 10 critical responses and 16 non-critical ones in 2013/14 as well as 10 false alarms.

Similar proposals at Bordon would see a crew of 15 on-call reduced to 13 with a smaller vehicle, Liphook would reduce from 12 to eight, and Petersfield, serving a population of 25,270, would see a team of 20 reduce to 14, losing one of its two larger fire engines.

The review of how the fire service runs, its manning and locations for different types of fire appliance follows similar service cuts and changes in West Sussex last year and a money-saving policy in Surrey through “natural wastage” of staff.

Fire stations along the county border currently give fire cover for each other.

Concerns were raised at a meeting of Midhurst Town Council last week when council chairman John Etherington said: “If they are losing staff and appliances, it is very worrying.”

Town council vice-chairman John Quilter said: “We have already raised our concerns about the fire service rationalisation and we were told there was nothing to worry about, that West Sussex Fire Service was fully aware of the situation and were in discussion with Hampshire.

“Lo and behold now when you take the reduction of coverage at Petworth and Midhurst along with reductions from the fire stations over the border in Hampshire, I think that leaves us very exposed and I am very concerned.”

Hampshire FRS’s Chief Officer Dave Curry said:“We want to deliver an effective service in accordance with the needs of its local communities, ensuring we match our resources to levels of known risk.

“In light of the changes in risk across Hampshire and potential financial challenges, it is vital we remain relevant, become more efficient and provide people with a first-class fire and rescue service.

“I strongly encourage residents to take part in this formal consultation process and tell us what they think of the proposed changes to help us to provide the best possible service back to them.”

The consultation began in September and the HFRA will meet on February 24 after considering the proposals and feedback from the public, organisations and staff.

Residents can take part by completing the questionnaire online at www. hantsfire.gov.uk