North Yorkshire fire service must 'adapt and invest'
A county's fire and rescue service will be expected to adapt to deal with a wider range of emergencies in coming years, according to its new action plan. The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Plan, which sets out the service's priorities to 2029, was launched on Monday. The aims of the plan, compiled by York and North Yorkshire's Combined Authority, include tackling the causes of fires, improving safety in buildings, preparing communities for emergencies and investing in new equipment and staff. Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith said: "The service needs to adapt and invest in estates, equipment and staff. Investing to make it more efficient will have a positive knock-on effect."
Skaith said this year's hike in the fire and rescue precept - equivalent to a 28% increase, or £24, compared to 2024-5 - was necessary after years of under-investment.
'Visitor influx'
The new plan recognised the challenges posed by climate change, which meant "the calls the service is dealing with are changing", Skaith explained.He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Over the last 10 to 15 years, we've seen firefighters responding to much more flooding."The influx of visitors North Yorkshire gets every year - particularly in coastal areas - also adds pressure."Meanwhile, Jo Coles, deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, said the plan also aimed to cut road deaths as firefighters were increasingly responding to traffic accidents.Road safety was "a big issue" for the service, Coles said."Thirty two people died on the roads last year and we've had 11 deaths this year - and we're only in April."Every death is a tragedy and we want to work to raise awareness of road hazards to meet the aim of having zero people killed or seriously injured," she added. Chief fire officer Jonathan Dyson said North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was investing in new fire appliances and training for staff to make it fit for the future.He said he welcomed the fact that more than 1,600 people had taken part in formulating the plan via a public consultation.
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
17 hours ago
- BBC News
Mill Road bus gate: More than 4,600 fines issued to drivers
A council has been issuing around 100 fines a day on average to drivers for illegally using a bus Mill Road bridge bus gate in Cambridge was introduced on 11 March, banning vehicles except for buses, emergency services, taxis and blue badge holders' registered vehicles.A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows more than 4,600 fines were issued in its first seven Alex Beckett, chair of Cambridgeshire County Council's highways and transport committee, said "nobody wants to fine people" but that the restrictions made Mill Road a "more enjoyable, safer place to visit". He said: "Mill Road is the centre of a community. We want it to be a more enjoyable, safer place to visit and to encourage more people to come into the area."Reducing motorised through traffic and installing the bus gate will help achieve this."Anyone driving illegally through the bus gate can be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice of £70, discounted to £35 if paid within 21 fines were due to begin on March 11, enforcement was suspended for two days due to emergency work to fix a burst water main in the area, with fines starting on March the first seven weeks of the bus gate being fully operational, 4,677 fines were issued to drivers who breached the restrictions. In the first full week of its operation, commencing March 16, there were 857 fines highest number of fines issued in one week was in the week commencing March 30, when 887 fines were issued to drivers. Cambridgeshire County Council agreed last year to issue a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to install a bus gate on the was the second time the authority agreed to issue a TRO after the first was quashed following a legal restrictions created under the TRO closed the bridge to all motor vehicles. There were exemptions for local buses, taxis, emergency services, blue badge holders registered vehicles, vehicles in a disabled tax class, and vehicles on the council's permitted vehicles who fit into one of the categories still have to apply to the county council for a bus gate and cyclists were also still allowed to continue to cross the county council put in place a formal warning period at the start of the year, issuing warning PCNs to drivers who breached the bus gate restrictions, but not actual were also put up at the bridge to warn drivers about the new restrictions. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Rotherham: New clean-up crew will target fly-tipping and litter
Rotherham Council is doubling its clean-up team, with new jobs created to tackle fly-tipping and follows a £307,000 investment in its 2025-26 budget aimed at making the South Yorkshire borough number of staff dedicated to maintaining rural verges and main roads will rise from four to eight.A report set to go before the council's cabinet on 9 June says the additional staff will allow for more regular litter-removal, better identification of fly-tipping hotspots, and increased intelligence-sharing with enforcement officers. There will also be two new performance management officers, to track the service and develop long-term litter-busting roles are expected to begin in July or August, with the cost of new vehicles, uniforms and equipment all factored into the budget, according to the Local Democracy Reporting had 5,689 fly-tipping incidents in 2022, with 2,070 classed as large or multiple are 326 roadside verges in the borough which are currently cleared of litter and cut once a year, between May and October. However "as a result of the investment, the capacity in this area will be doubled," the report concludes.A progress update will be presented to the council's cabinet in April 2026. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Salford property becoming 'less affordable'
Property in Salford is becoming "less affordable", despite efforts to build more homes, the city's mayor has Dennett warned that the cost of living in Salford was being pushed further out of reach for some residents as prices continued to surge.A report by the council stated that 1,903 affordable homes were built between 2019/20 and 2024/25, a figure it described as a "very successful" data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that average rents and house prices were climbing. "Despite us exceeding our housing targets, housing, property, rents have become less affordable in line with individual income and household income," Dennett said."I think it was Adam Smith who talked about if you increase supply it makes things more affordable, well apparently that does not happen in the city of Salford." 'A lot to do' Swathes of the city have benefited from large-scale regeneration, including key areas around the city centre Greengate neighbourhood and Salford the average house price in Salford was £217,000 in March 2025, which is up 3.6% from March 2024, according to the was also found to be a major issue, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, with 753 households in temporary accommodation as of October 2024, including more than 1,000 council has launched Salford's Good Homes Strategy which runs up until is aimed at creating a "continuous pipeline of new housing" across the city, with "maximised" affordable accommodation from its housing includes a review of housing conditions around Salford, to make sure people are living in "good quality, safe, warm, dry, energy efficient" homes, which are "well managed".The council's cabinet team approved the new housing strategy during a meeting at Salford Civic Centre earlier this Kelly, Salford's deputy mayor and lead member for housing, said: "We're well aware that this is not in isolation with the council, it's a partnership approach."It's incumbent on all of our partners to work collaboratively to eradicate homelessness, temporary accommodation etcetera."This is not going to be a walk in the park, this is just the beginning really, we've got a lot to do." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
