PAINSWICK Fire Station will officially be closed and Cirencester’s will be downgraded.

The decision was made unanimously at Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday despite strong opposition from the Fire Brigade Union.

It followed a recommendation from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS), which was made after a three month public consultation.

In the future the Painswick area will see emergency response come from Stroud instead.

Cirencester's fire station will now be operated by on-call firefighters rather than full-time ones.

The changes are part of a plan by GFRS to save £2m from its budget over the next three years.

Cabinet’s decision was met with consternation and anger by the Fire Union, who said that the cuts would compromise public safety.

Scott Turner, secretary of the FBU in Gloucestershire, said it was a ‘dark day for firefighters’ and warned attendance times to emergencies would increase.

“In an emergency every minute counts,” he said.

“It can be the difference between a successful rescue and a person losing their life. Today’s decision means firefighters will arrive a lot later to emergency incidents, seriously hampering their ability to perform rescue operations.

“The public are dead set against the cuts to their fire and rescue service. Thousands have signed petitions asking the county council to drop the plans.”

Barry Kirby, the shadow Labour spokesperson for fire planning and infrastructure in Gloucestershire, said: “I am very disappointed with the decision the cabinet have made.

“It is an insult to our community and the brave firefighters who serve it.

“We want to see fire engines making it to the scene of emergencies as soon as possible, ideally within eight minutes, so they can save lives and keep us protected.

“The cuts will mean response times will increase. The council’s handling of the situation has been pitiful.”

Lesley Williams, leader of the Labour group and county councillor for Stonehouse, called the decision a ‘shambles’.

“Based on the responses of around 100 people they found a reason to close a much needed local service,” she said.

“Time and time again cuts are starting to be felt. It was telling that the room was packed today with concerned residents, the parish council and fire fighters themselves.”

It came after a petition calling for the station to be spared and signed by more than 1000 people was handed into the county council by parish councillors last week.

Painswick Fire Station currently costs £52,282 a year to run, with future replacement costs for a fully equipped fire engine and protective clothing in excess of £242,844.

Martin Slinger, chairman of Painswick Parish Council, who delivered the petition, said Last week Gloucestershire’s chief fire officer Stuart Edgar assured residents in Painswick that the fire service was ‘not abandoning the community’.

Mr Edgar said that because of the landscape of Painswick and the close proximity of Stroud Fire Station, response times would not suffer.

He added that there are 10 fully manned fire engines within an eight miles radius of Painswick station which can provide an emergency response in minutes.

He also pledged an effort to redeploy staff at the station across the organisation.