Councillors tonight voted to refuse a proposed new fire station in Saughall Massie to replace the soon-to-be closed West Kirby station.
West Kirby fire station is being phased out because of government spending cuts, and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service wanted to close Upton Fire Station too and build a replacement for both in Saughall Massie Road.
The fire service argued that a new fire station in Saughall Massie would give West Kirby and Hoylake better response times than relying on Upton – saving minutes which the fire service said could save lives in an emergency.
But the site is on the edge of the Green Belt, and Saughall Massie residents campaigned to block the proposal.
Around a hundred campaigners, who cheered as the decision was made, crowded into Wallasey Town Hall tonight for a planning committee meeting at which the fire station plan was up for discussion, with planning officers recommending that it should be given the green light.
Councillors visited the controversial site yesterday before taking their decision, alongside over 200 local people, who objected to the plans.
The committee heard that Merseyside Fire Service was concerned about emergency response times of up to 10minutes 2 seconds to parts of West Kirby and Hoylake from Upton Fire Station.
While national guidelines specify response times must be within 10 minutes, the Merseyside average is only 5 minutes.
However, Saughall Massie councillor Chris Blakeley, argued that the longer emergency response times did not constitute special circumstances to build on greenbelt land, which was adjacent to sheltered accommodation for elderly and vulnerable people.