One of Oxfordshire's growth towns has been told it cannot have its own fire station.

The thumbs-down for Carterton has angered the town's former mayor, Dee Bulley, who has been campaigning on the issue for 16 years.

"Another year, another report, another rejection. The people of Carterton need and deserve a fire station - now," she said.

"This is terrible news for Carterton. It is one of the big growth towns of Oxfordshire. We are now faced with yet another 1,000 houses and we are still being denied a fire station."

The latest rebuff for the town has been dished out by Oxfordshire County Council's public protection committee.

A committee report points out that on no occasion in the past four years has the fire brigade been late in getting to incidents in the town. It is served by retained crews from stations at Witney, Bampton and Burford, all within six miles.

The case for Carterton has been under annual review since 1990 and has also been periodically investigated by Her Majesty's Inspector of Fire Services.

A detailed record of calls and incidents over the past 15 years shows no escalating demand on the fire service. Last year there were 52 call outs, one a week, of which 29 were false alarms.

The town is the second largest in west Oxfordshire, with a current population of over 13,000. Another 1,000 homes are due to be built over the next decade in north-east Carterton.

Story date: Thursday 23 March

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