It seems that West Sussex County Council is not considering re-opening
the mothballed fire control in Chichester, but is considering letting a control
room in Cheshire manage West Sussex emergencies.
This change, following the costly decision to abandon the
Sussex Control Centre, is shrouded in secrecy. However, reliable reports suggest
that only three options are being considered. The North West Fire Control in Cheshire
and the fire controls in Hampshire and Surrey.
It also appears that the decision will be taken by Cabinet Member Debbie Kennard next month. This throws up a number of
questions, in addition to why re-opening the West Sussex Fire Control in Chichester
is not being considered:
Why were other options ruled out?
What company provides the mobilising
systems to the control rooms being considered?
How can WSCC be sure they will work
with all the systems in West Sussex that they will need to connect to?
Did consultants recommend withdrawing
from the Sussex Control Centre?
East Sussex said the problems were
not with the mobilising system, but with other systems in East Sussex, so was
the mobilising system tested with West Sussex systems?
Where is the report on those tests?
Who were the consultants and were
they properly independent?
Did consultants recommend the
options being considered?
Who were the consultants and were
they properly independent?
Why are their reports not publicly
available?
Why is the decision being taken
without consultation with the public?
Why is the decision being taken
without consulting the relevant County Council scrutiny committee?
Inept decisions have already cost taxpayers millions of pounds. To avoid further waste the next steps must be considered carefully, transparently and with proper scrutiny.
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