Crew numbers in Banbury still unclear despite back down on some fire service changes
14/04/2026
Reducing the size of the watches at Cope Road is still on the table
The closure of three Oxfordshire fire stations as part of proposed changes to the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service have been dropped – but details of whether Banbury’s station on Cope Road will retain its current staffing levels are less clear.
Following a public outcry and pressure from the Fire Brigades Union, Oxfordshire County Council has backed down on plans to close its fire stations at Eynsham, Henley and Woodstock. That suggestion came in the face of persistently low availability of on-call crews.
Amended proposals will now be considered by Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet next week.
What is unclear is the number of firefighters which will be maintained in each crew at Banbury.
It remains one of the council’s objectives to implement 12-hour day shifts using fulltime firefighters at five fire stations which currently only use on-call firefighters. The original plan saw this achieved by reducing the number of firefighters at Cope Road by four. The County Council previously said this would still leave 6 personnel on each of the station’s four watches, with the requirement to provide a minimum crew of 4 in order for an appliance to be mobilised.
Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer is Rob MacDougall. He said: “We will continue to work closely with our colleagues and the [Fire Brigades Union] to identify how we can deliver our key objectives of improved first response times, increased daytime cover, stronger service resilience, and an increased amount of fire prevention work.
“Further proposals will be considered by Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet later in the year.”
Banbury’s MP, Sean Woodcock, told Banbury FM: “I remain concerned that proposals for cutting the size of the watch in Banbury and changes at Chipping Norton are on the table.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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