I may have to venture out into the unpleasantly hot weather[*] with my camera and do another ‘secret Crawley’ post on the land next to Cheals roundabout, while it is still there.

The county council want to relocate the fire station there, on what the Crawley News describes as ‘precious land’. The borough council’s planning committee have objected to the plans – although I think the final decision rests with Chichester and they can do whatever they want, regardless of the opinions of Crawley’s own population or representatives.

One quote from the planning meeting was from the ever-quotable John Mortimer who is both a borough and county councillor for Ifield. He said “I’m quite happy to put my hand up for objection, but you’re not living in the real world if you think they’re going to go down to Manor Royal and pay £10 million”

I know what he means, but why shouldn’t we expect the county to pay whatever it takes to acquire a more suitable site? The location of the current fire station is right next to the leisure park and land there must be more expensive than just about anywhere else in town. The proceeds from selling that land would be enough to buy a larger plot just about anywhere else in town.

Or were the county council going to just take the money from the sale of the old land, and give up a bit of land which they don’t use, but plenty of people in Broadfield and Southgate do use? I know they need that money to make up for the millions they pissed up the wall with unexpected overspends on Fastway, or just to subsidise the rest of the county as they so often do, but its just not right.

It all suggests that the location for the proposed new fire station was decided for financial convenience rather than because it would be the best location operationally. (The same could be said of the proposal to build a hospital at Pease Pottage instead of, for example, next to Junction 10 of the M23 but that is far less controversial)

[*] I wrote this on the laptop last week while I was in Doncaster and without Internet access. The weather is a little better now.