Council will not start court battle

WARRINGTON Borough Council is not to take court action against Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service over its decision to end 24-hour cover at Birchwood Fire Station.
Members of the council’s executive board voted unanimously not to commence Judicial Review proceedings against the fire service.
They had heard an impassioned plea from Birchwood councillor Russ Bowden who wanted the authority to take legal action.
But they decided to take the advice of council solicitor Tim Date who said in his opinion there was no realistic prospect of success in challenging the fire authority’s decision.
During a lengthy debate, Coun Bob Timmis said it could cost the council £300,000-£400,000 to take action and the likelihood they would lose.
“How many potholes could we fill in with that sort of money?” he asked.
Coun Bowden told the executive that 14,500 signatures had been collected in three weeks on a petition opposing the cutback at Birchwood Fire Station.
But it was clear the fire authority had given the petition scant consideration.
He realised the legal advice was against proceeding with the action.
“But this is more about principle. If we just roll over on this there is a danger of the same thing happening again.”
The meeting was told the fire service would save some £420,000 a year by the cutback and the money would be spent on new fire fighting equipment, including a new midi fire engine.
Existing firefighters at Birchwood would receive a pay rise and there would be jobs for 20 part time firefighters. Some 130 Birchwood people had expressed interest in the posts.
There would be a minimum impact on fire safety and attendance times would be no more than five minutes longer.
Council leader Ian Marks said all members of the council supported the residents of Birchwood. No-one wanted the changes implemented.
.But the time limit for instituting a Judicial Review was three months and this had already been exceeded. Even if it hadn’t, legal opinion was that the decision making process had not been flawed.
If it had, the court would merely tell the fire authority to do it again – and the fire authority would be likely to come to the same decision.
He did not consider the council was “rolling over” but rather that it was taking a responsible decision.