Published: Thursday, 4th March, 2010 7:00am

Town firefighters told 'new station is not a threat'

by Kirsty Gibbins

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TRANENT firefighters have been assured that planning approval recently granted for a new community station at nearby Wallyford does not spell the end for the town's retained fire station.

East Lothian Council granted planning permission in principle to Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service (LBFRS) last month, to erect a community fire station, housing one appliance, one support unit vehicle, a practice tower and training area, at land at Salter's Road, near the Wallyford Toll roundabout. The Courier understands that the new station is expected to be constructed and operational in approximately three years' time.

Previously the LBFRS board had planned to fund the erection of the community station by selling the existing Musselburgh and Tranent Fire Stations sites and subsequently closing both facilities - however the construction of the Wallyford facility will now go ahead using about £1.5 million of Scottish Government funds allocated to LBFRS last year.

Tranent Fire Station watch manager Joe Stockman told the Courier that LBFRS officials had visited the station a fortnight ago to speak with firefighters there and update them on the approval given to the Wallyford proposals.

"We've been told that once Wallyford is fully operational then they (LBFRS) will look at how that impacts on Tranent Fire Station and whether they would be justified in closing down Tranent or better off keeping us going," explained Mr Stockman, who reiterated that he and his 10 colleagues at the retained station had always been "dead against" the closure of the facility.

"For us, if they are going to close Tranent then there would need to be some guarantee that the Wallyford station would be the primary fire service for the Fa'side area, rather than appliances being sent from further afield and priority instead being given to incidents in Musselburgh for example.

"Tranent is growing all the time and we have always maintained that the town needs a central fire station to serve it."

However, he added that he believed, despite assurances by LBFRS, that a decision had not been taken on Tranent's future, it was "very likely" the station would close once a new Wallyford service was operational.

Councillor Stuart Currie, one of two East Lothian elected members on the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service Board, denied this was the case and said that the Government funding allocated to the new Wallyford station gave the board "more options" when considering whether Tranent Fire Station was required in three or four years' time.

Mr Currie, who together with wife, Fa'side councillor Ruth Currie, fronted a community campaign to retain Tranent Fire Station when it first came under threat a few years ago, said: "The good thing is that previously we would have had to rely on the asset sales from Musselburgh and Tranent before we could build the Wallyford station and now we don't have a gun to our head in that respect. It gives us more options to consider when we have to examine whether there is a demand for a station to remain at Tranent.

"But the important thing to make clear is that there has been no decision made regarding the future of Tranent Fire Station and that will remain the case until around 2013/14."