Whitchurch Bridge Closure / Response times

The request was partially successful.

Dear Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service,

I understand Whitchurch Bridge on the B471 near Reading is to close for around 6 months on
3rd October 2013. Whilst it is recognised that the bridge requires
replacement, can you please provide all information relating to the
arrangements being put in place to cope with the closure. This
should includes minutes of any meetings held and any data provided
to other stakeholders. In particular, Whitchurch is renowned for
being cut off when there is snowfall and ice. It is not uncommon
for the B471 to be un passable even for 4 x 4 vehicles when there
has been snowfall. When the bridge is open vehicles can pass from the A329 however with the bridge closure this could possible leave whitchurch cut off from vehicular access during adverse weather. I would therefore request all information with
regards for contingency plans for the emergency services, particularly if we have a poor winter whilst the bridge is closed. Could you also provide any data as to current response times, targets and any anticipated change resulting from the bridge closure.
I understand you are "berkshire fire" and Whitchurch is oxfordshire however on recent occasions it has been Pangbourne crews that have responded to recent incidents.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Bowen

Emily Houghton, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Dear Mr Bowen,

Many thanks for your email this morning (20^th June 2013) which is
receiving attention.  It may assist you to know that your Request for
Information is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).

Once I have confirmed that the information you have requested is available
and can be disclosed in accordance with the Act, I will arrange for a
response to be emailed to you to you.  With regard to any redaction, this
should only apply to Data Protected material in accordance with Section 40
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as well as the Principles of the
Data Protection Act 1998, however we will inform you whether any other
exemptions apply.

I do not anticipate that a fee will be charged in this case, however, we
will inform you should this position alter.

Should the information you have requested not be available I will notify
you, that said, I expect to be able to give you a definitive response
within 20 working days, that is to say, on or before 18^th July 2013.

If, at any time, you are dissatisfied with the way in which we deal with
your enquiry, you can submit a Complaint using the Royal Berkshire Fire
and Rescue Service's Complaints Procedure which is available via our
website [1]www.rbfrs.co.uk. Having exhausted our Complaints Procedure, you
may ultimately refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner, whose
website is [2]www.ico.org.uk , for final determination.

Yours sincerely,

Emily Houghton

Document Management and Information Requests Officer | Royal Berkshire
Fire and Rescue Service

103 Dee Road, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4FS, United Kingdom
| [3]www.rbfrs.co.uk

Email [4][email address]  | Telephone +44 (0118)938 4624 | Fax
+44(0)118 932 2221

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Emily Houghton, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Dear Mr Bowen,

I refer to your Request for Information dated 20^th June 2013 and my
subsequent acknowledgement e-mail on this subject.

Regretfully, I have to advise you that I am unable to comply with your
request for Information as the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has
not yet been informed of the Whitchurch Bridge road closure and therefore
does not hold any information in this regard. This e-mail therefore serves
as a REFUSAL NOTICE in accordance with Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

The above notwithstanding, now that this matter has been brought to our
attention, I can assure you that enquiries are being made and this matter
will be addressed in liaison with the other agencies affected and
involved.

As requested, the current system generated run time via the toll bridge
into Whitchurch for Pangbourne’s appliance is 2 minutes and 08 seconds
(plus 5 minutes Retained Duty System (RDS) response time to the Station)
compared with a running time of 12 minutes and 05 seconds via Goring
Bridge (plus 5 minutes Retained Duty System (RDS) response time to the
Station).

The alternative run time for an appliance from Caversham Road, Reading
(via Caversham Bridge) would be 12 minutes and 35 seconds (plus wholetime
response of 1 minute and 30 seconds).

The system run time for Oxfordshire’s nearest appliance (Goring) is 7
minutes and 06 seconds (plus their allocated Retained Duty System (RDS)
response time to the station) and their next nearest resource
(Wallingford) is 12 minutes and 27 seconds (plus their allocated Retained
Duty System (RDS) response time to station).

 

I hope the information that has been provided to you will be of
assistance, and should you have any further queries please do not hesitate
to contact me.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that
if, at any time, you are dissatisfied with the way in which we deal with
your enquiry, you can submit a Complaint using the Royal Berkshire Fire
and Rescue Service's Complaints Procedure which is available via our
website [1]www.rbfrs.co.uk. Having exhausted our Complaints Procedure, you
may ultimately refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner, whose
website is [2]www.ico.org.uk , for final determination.

Yours sincerely,

Emily Houghton

Document Management and Information Requests Officer | Royal Berkshire
Fire and Rescue Service

103 Dee Road, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4FS, United Kingdom
| [3]www.rbfrs.co.uk

Email [4][email address]  | Telephone +44 (0118)938 4624 | Fax
+44(0)118 932 2221

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Dear Emily Houghton,

Thank you very much for your prompt and honest reply.
Whilst I am aware Whitchurch on Thames is covered by Oxfordshire Fire Service, Pangbourne Fire ststaion is less than a mile from the village. Do you have any sample figures available of how many calls you have attended within Whitchurch on Thames / Whitchurch Hill areas.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Bowen

Emily Houghton, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Dear Mr Bowen,

I refer to your further request for information yesterday (26^th June
2013) regarding incidents attended within the Whitchurch on Thames /
Whitchurch Hill areas.

 

Rest assured that your enquiry is receiving attention and as soon as I
have received the statistics from the relevant department, I will email
you.

Should the information you have requested not be available I will notify
you, that said, I expect to be able to give you a definitive response
within 20 working days, that is to say, on or before 24^th July 2013.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that if, at any time,
you are dissatisfied with the way in which we deal with  your enquiry, you
can submit a Complaint using the Royal Berkshire Fire  and Rescue
Service's Complaints Procedure which is available via our website
[1]www.rbfrs.co.uk.  Having exhausted our Complaints Procedure, you may
ultimately refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner, whose
website is [2]www.ico.org.uk,  for final determination.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Emily Houghton

Document Management and Information Requests Officer | Royal Berkshire
Fire and Rescue Service

103 Dee Road, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4FS, United Kingdom
| [3]www.rbfrs.co.uk

Email [4][email address]  | Telephone +44 (0118)938 4624 | Fax
+44(0)118 932 2221

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Emily Houghton, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Bowen,

I refer to your request for information yesterday (26^th June 2013) and my
subsequent email earlier today.

 

Following a speedy response from the appropriate department, I am pleased
to be able to send you an XL Spreadsheet detailing incidents that Royal
Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service have attended in the
Whitchurch-on-Thames / Whitchurch Hill Areas of Oxfordshire.  Please be
aware that the statistics are from 1^st January 2011 to date, if this is
not the appropriate timeframe that you are seeking, please do let me know.

 

I hope this information will be of assistance to you, and should you have
any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that if, at any time,
you are dissatisfied with the way in which we deal with your enquiry, you
can submit a Complaint using the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service's
Complaints Procedure which is available via our website
[1]www.rbfrs.co.uk.  Having exhausted our Complaints Procedure, you may
ultimately refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner, whose
website is [2]www.ico.org.uk,  for final determination.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Emily Houghton

Document Management and Information Requests Officer | Royal Berkshire
Fire and Rescue Service

103 Dee Road, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4FS, United Kingdom
| [3]www.rbfrs.co.uk

Email [4][email address]  | Telephone +44 (0118)938 4624 | Fax
+44(0)118 932 2221

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