Few Watch! Fire station cuts fail to spark public interest

Londoners have been turning up in single figures to meetings on Boris Johnson’s fire station closure plans which are costing more than £100,000 to stage.

A single resident attended events in Newham, Brent and Harrow while just two turned up in Barking & Dagenham and four in the City of London. Mr Johnson plans to axe 12 fire stations, 18 engines and 520 jobs to save £45 million from the fire service budget.

However, the low turn-out figures are embarrassing for Opposition members of the authority who insisted on each borough hosting its own event. They have led to quips that the Fire Commissioner could have saved money by taking each attendee out for dinner to brief them in person.

James Cleverly, chairman of the fire authority, said: “We didn’t need to spend over £100,000 to carry out an effective consultation.”

Some inner London boroughs have attracted larger crowds with 110 people turning up to the Southwark meeting, 140 in Lewisham and 200 attending in Lambeth. Labour’s fire spokesman Navin Shah said: “In the areas where there

are significant cuts we have seen strong turn-outs and vocal opposition.”