Wilton Fire Station to Remain Open - For Now

Wednesday, 1 July 2026 09:36

WIlton Fire Station will remain open for now following a vote yesterday (30th June) by the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

However, that comes with funding caveats, which may still result in Wilton and seven other fire stations closing.

The decision rests on a request for government approval to raise the council tax precept for 2028/28 to at least the national average. The increase is expected to see an additional £2.25m added to the services budget.

The decision comes after six months of warnings of closures and changing advice from Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole, who earlier in June fully reversed his advice to the Fire Authority. That advice, however, included the following caveats:

The Authority being granted flexibility to raise the council tax precept to at least the national average for fire services for 2027/28,
the subsequent approval of the council tax precept rise by the Authority at its meeting in February 2027; and
There are no other or further reductions in funding

Should these conditions not be met, the Fire Authority agreed that all eight fire stations would be closed.

The plan is now to continue lobbying central government for the fire precept flexibility, which will be confirmed in February 2027.

Cllr Pauline Church, who has been campaigning to keep the Wilton station open, said yesterday on social media, "Thank you to everyone who campaigned, submitted a representation to the public consultation and aired their concerns. We must never find Wilton in this situation again.

"However, the Fire Authority did not accept my suggestion of replacing the word ‘close’ with ‘review’ if additional government funding is not forthcoming by February 2027 - rather, today they voted to close stations should DWFRS be in that situation. The fight is not over, I will continue to lobby for an improved funding formula from government and ensure flexibility in their precept raising ability."