Dundee’s Lord Provost in fire control centre plea

The Lord Provost of Dundee is campaigning for the city to be chosen as one of Scotland's three remaining control centres. Picture: PA

Last week the service’s board agreed in principle - by a single vote - to retain only three of the eight current control centres serving the country as part of a major rationalisation plan.

Under the proposals, the control room at Johnstone in Renfrewshire will be retained and two other control centres will be kept from a four-strong list of centres at Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

Senior fire service officers had proposed in a strategic intent review that only two of the eight control rooms - at Thornhill, Johnstone, and McAlpine Road, Dundee - should be retained.

Lord Provost Duncan has now written to Pat Watters, the chairman of the fire board, backing Dundee’s retention as a regional control hub.

He said: “The letter highlights not only our prime location, but the opportunity to provide good value for public money by creating a new

facility on comparatively competitively priced land in the city that is development ready.

“This would help the Scottish Fire Service make a smooth transition to the new arrangements, quickly creating a settled and stable operation

for staff and service users.”

Lord Provost Duncan continued: “Dundee is a beacon of call centre excellence with national and international businesses having established call handling facilities in the city. This means we have highly skilled, well trained and motivated pool of people with the

expertise the service needs to establish and maintain a first class operation.”

He added: “I felt it was important to get in touch with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Board as soon as possible to outline why Dundee is the best option for the service’s regional control hub and support the proposals its own Strategic Intent report.”