Having considered the Chief Fire Officer’s report and the representations made today and at many public meetings, it is proposed that:

Subject to the detailed points made below, the recommendations in the Chief Fire Officer’s report should be approved;

• No closures of facilities or transfers of staff and fire appliances be implemented before the necessary new or alternative facilities are operational;
• The Chief Fire Officer identifies a site for each of the two Edinburgh Fire Stations and reports back on the effect of the locations on response times and fire cover;
• Any decision regarding the proposed closure of Melrose Fire Station is deferred until the position regarding the financial implications is clarified by Scottish Borders Council and a further report is submitted to the Board;
• Livingston Station should be designated as a Community Fire Station in the same way as the new East Lothian Station;
• The proposed community safety initiatives should be initiated in the first year of the improvement plan;
• Early priority be given to the proposed community safety initiatives in the Melrose, Marionville and Tranent areas;
• The Chief Fire Officer bring forward as soon as practicable a five year outline plan for the Board’s consideration, giving an overview of the planned action for each relevant year, together with a detailed investment plan;
• The Chief Fire Officer bring forward an action plan for the Board’s consideration, on an annual basis; and
• This action plan should include an update on the relevant risk assessments together with any demographic changes that have taken place in the preceding year. Particular scrutiny will be required to ensure that the service developments and initiatives planned in the early years of the Service Improvement Plan are sufficiently robust to deliver an effective longer-term community safety structure in areas where there are known to be significant increases in population