Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones has welcomed the decision of Warwickshire County Council to retain two fire engines in the Town, following a consultation about the Fire Service in Warwickshire. 

Marcus responded to the consultation of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and also met with the Chief Fire Officer, Andy Hickmott, and portfolio holder Cllr Les Caborn, to discuss the proposed changes.

The local MP has supported the idea of reducing the response time of fire and rescue services in the North of Warwickshire which will benefit people that he represents in Hartshill, Arley and Whitacre.

He did, however, raise serious concerns about the idea of reducing cover for Nuneaton to just one crewed appliance. He believed that as new development takes place, the demands on fire and rescue services in Nuneaton will increase and being reduced to one appliance is a step in the wrong direction.

Commenting on his response to the consultation Marcus said, “Over a number of years Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service have done a magnificent job and we have seen a year on year decrease in serious fires, and we should pay tribute to our brave fire men and women. I welcome that our fire chiefs are looking to try and improve response times to the more rural areas that I represent.

"It is vital that Nuneaton has the sort of fire cover that an urban area like ours needs and deserves. I had great concern over the idea of reducing down to one fire engine at Nuneaton and I am delighted that the County Council have listened to local concerns and decided to keep two engines working out of Nuneaton. I am also pleased that the more rural areas that I represent will benefit from the extra resources being deployed to rural north Warwickshire."