'Give Topsham its fire station' plea

Building up for sale

Topsham residents should have a fair crack at bidding for the town's abandoned fire station, according to local politicians, including the town's MP.

Simon Jupp, whose East Devon constituency covers Topsham, has started a petition that invites Devon and Somerset’s Fire and Rescue Service: "to look favourably at any bid for the building from a local community organisation."

It could create the unusual situation in which a public body turns away the highest bidder and fails to maximise taxpayers' returns, something Conservative politicians traditionally wish to avoid.

However, rules do permit buildings to be declare 'assets of community value' if they are deemed to be important to an area. That provides a pause of up to six months to allow community organisations to raise the money to put in a bid.

Topsham’s councillors have joined the campaign to save the building on Fore Street, which closed last year. Services were relocated to nearby Clyst St George, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue's headquarters.

That move, an efficiency savings measure along with the closure of many other local fire stations, including another in Mr Jupp's patch at Budleigh Salterton, came after 10 years of Conservative austerity cuts. 

The campaign to save the building for community use has been launched jointly by Mr Jupp and every Topsham councillor on both Exeter City Council and Devon County Council, all of whom are Conservatives. The councillors and Mr Jupp fought against the closure of the station, meeting with chief fire officer Lee Howell in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to overturn the decision.

Whilst an emotional and politically charged issue, the nature of firefighting has changed over the years. Chips are a major reason. In the mid-90s, one in five domestic fires began with chip pans, according to the Economist. By the late 2010s it was down to one in 20, thanks to the popularity of oven chips. 

With the rise of the frozen food favourite has come a decline in fires. Nationally, the average number of blazes attended by firefighters each year dropped from 12 in 2003 to around five in 2019.

It's meant the average cost of attending a smaller number of fires has risen. Whilst local politicians object to the closure of fire stations and local residents feel safer knowing a fire engine is never far away, fire stations have closed. Rather than decay or be sold to developers, continued community use is understandably popular.

Mr Jupp said: “I firmly believe the building should be sold for community use with the Estuary League of Friends being among the interested parties hoping to purchase the site and also re-open the public toilets. Topsham’s community spirit has shone throughout the last year and returning the former fire station to the community is undoubtedly the right way forward for the town. Please tell everybody you know in Topsham about the petition and help spread the word to help secure the site for the community and future generations.”
 
The councillors supporting the campaign are Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County and Exeter City Councillor for Topsham, Cllr Keith Sparkes, Exeter City Councillor for Topsham and Cllr Rob Newby, Exeter City Councillor for Topsham.
 
They said: “We fought to retain our fire station in Topsham and were gutted when the Fire Authority voted to close it - although we won the fight to get it relocated just up the road in Clyst St George. As a community asset, we firmly believe that the Fire Authority should prioritise the disposal of the building to a Community Organisation, meaning that local residents continue to enjoy and benefit from this much loved building. We urge everyone who believes that the building should remain in community ownership to sign the petition, which will demonstrate to the Fire Authority the public feeling on this issue!”