18 July 2012 Last updated at 13:06 ET

Cornwall Council approves new Camborne fire station

Cornwall Council has approved £8.4m plans to reorganise emergency fire cover in west Cornwall.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service wants to close its station in Redruth and build a new one at Tolvadden to cover Camborne, Pool, and Redruth.

Chief Fire Officer Des Tidbury said plans would mean an extra 14,000 people would be reached within ten minutes of a fire alert.

Council leader Alec Robertson the new hub would provide "major benefits".

Cover for nearby Hayle would come from crews being based in a shared emergency service centre in the town.

Mr Robertson said: "We understand everybody's concerns.

"Relocating a fire station is always going to be contentious in the local area and we had to be satisfied that all the benefits that we were going to accrue from that, and of course there are going to be huge improvements to safety cover, aren't going to be lost in other areas."

Community safety and protection councillor, Lance Kennedy, said that "timings have been done by a fire engine, with a driver, with a stopwatch" and moving location would result in faster response times.

Mr Kennedy said: "This brings 14,000 people within the 10-minute call out time and as for the residents of Hayle, not since the Second World War have they been able to sleep safely in their beds knowing there is fire cover in the town."