Council accused of striking poor deal over Windsor fire station
A COUNCILLOR has accused the Royal Borough of striking a poor deal over plans for a new fire station
Wernicks Ltd was awarded the £400,000 contract to build the new Windsor fire station in Tinkers Lane, at a Royal Borough cabinet meeting on Thursday last week,
The Royal Borough will fund £300,000 of the building work, with the rest coming from a Government grant, and the fire authority will have the building on a 125-year rent-free lease.
Councillor Malcolm Beer has previously criticised the fact the fire authority is set to pocket £3.6m from the sale of the current station in St Mark's Road.
He said: "It doesn't seem to be a very good deal looking in on it.
"It doesn't seem to be a balanced expenditure, especially when the borough is cutting staff levels so dramatically in the Town Hall."
Windsor MP Adam Afriyie praised the Royal Borough councillors who secured the station, and with it 24-hour cover for Windsor.
Mr Afriyie said: "Our fire services are invaluable to the local area.
"I'd like to thank hard-working Conservative councillors who worked tirelessly to bring this issue to the forefront of council priorities, despite opposition.
"It's a huge achievement and one which they should be rightly proud of."
Cllr David Burbage, Royal Borough council leader, said: "By accommodating the new fire station at the council's depot in Tinkers Lane, we will provide a strategic site with easy access across the area."