Town councillors have unanimously supported a motion put forward by Cllr Michael Coker calling on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service to withdraw their proposals for the closure of the School Lane station.

Proposing the motion, Cllr George Illingworth made three main points, claiming the reason for some of the proposals was unclear, and Kenilworth and other areas would be left at greater risk.

He said: "This is called an improvement plan, but how can removing the fire station be an improvement for Kenilworth? The fire service is highly regarded in this town but public confidence is now being undermined.

"The more statistics are revealed the less they support the plans. Although there has been a general risk assessment for the County incredibly there does not appear to have been one specific to Kenilworth.

"The ability of Kenilworth to reinforce Leamington will be lost and 135,000 people, over a quarter of the population of the County, would be protected by just one fire station."

Many councillors spoke in support of the motion.

Cllr Norman Vincett said he was sceptical of the ability of crews to reach all of Kenilworth from Leamington within the stated 10 minutes.

He added that he saw the fire station as an insurance policy for the town and that he was very "disappointed" the newly-appointed chief officer had not had the "professional courage" to withdraw the "badly thought out proposals" and start again.

Cllr Felicity Bunker believed that the financial implications of the changes had not been fully investigated.

She said: "We have had a fire station in the town since the 1860s when it was only a small town. The town has grown enormously and continues to grow. We need one more than ever."

Cllr Pauline Edwards spoke of her experience chairing the Safety Committee when she had been 'highly impressed' by the professionalism of the part-time firemen and firewomen.

"If they are undermanned they should be allowed to recruit more."

Seconding the motion, Cllr Ann Blacklock said that the consultation documentation was an 'insult' to our firefighters because it was 'poorly drafted'.

Referring to the insurance aspect she added: "The £95,000 which Kenilworth fire station costs each year is very good value for money. It is less than £4 per head."

Cllr Illingworth said: "The fire service wishes to reduce the number of incidents it has to deal with by prevention and education.

"From the statistics, Kenilworth appears to be well ahead. We appear not to have enough fires to justify a fire station. We should be congratulated on that – not penalised. But the risk remains and resources must stay in the town."

The public consultation meetings have now ended but the consultation continues until Tuesday December 8.

The outcome will then be analysed and reported to Warwickshire County Council's cabinet on January 28 2010, before a final decision made by the full council on February 9 2010. Both are public meetings.

The consultation is available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue

Questions can be directed to fireandrescue@warwickshire.gov.uk