A second post in one day! But unfortunately dealing with the closure of Southwark Fire Station on Southwark Bridge Road last Thursday. This closure was part of the programme of 10 fire stations in Central London closed by Mayor Boris Johnson announced at the end of 2012.
As a council we opposed the closure and joined other central London authorities in bringing a judicial review to challenge the decision, which seemed to have been made in the face of worsening fire statistics for our borough. We found out just before Christmas that the challenge had been unsuccessful so the closures went ahead. After serving the community for 136 years the last fire engine left Southwark Fire Station just after 9.30am last Thursday. I was among the crowd which had gathered to thank all of those who had served at the station and to say goodbye to this piece of our history.
The last engine has been moved to Twickenham.
Given the increased density of building and population across Southwark it still seems madness that the Mayor has decided to close fire stations at this time. I just hope that it is not a decision which anyone has cause to regret.
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