Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) recently held a total of 34 community engagement drop-in sessions at a variety of different locations and venues over six counties of Mid and West Wales.
The purpose of the drop-in sessions was to gather valuable input from residents and stakeholders, to assist in identifying any issues or challenges the Service may face in the delivery of the Community Risk Management Plan 2040 (CRMP 2040). Along side the drop-in sessions MAWWFRS held two online webinars hosted by Deputy Chief Fire Officer Iwan Cray, meetings with members of Parliament, members of the Senedd and Town and Community Councillors to gain as much feedback as possible.
The interactive sessions proved a resounding success with an impressive 721 ‘Re-Shaping Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service…together’ surveys being completed. A further 130 ‘Have Your Say’ surveys were received from a wide range of stakeholders, also providing their views and expectations of a modern Fire and Rescue Service. Swansea University provided a large footfall with a fantastic amount of engagement and the session at Crickhowell Fire Station welcomed over 100 attendees!
Amy Richmond-Jones, CRMP Planning and Performance Manager said:
“Our community drop-in sessions exceeded our expectations in terms of participation and the quality of feedback received. We understand that listening to the views of staff, communities, partner organisations, trade unions, elected members and people across Mid and West Wales is extremely important. All the information gathered will be instrumental in guiding our next steps to ensure that our actions align with the community's expectations. We would like to thank everyone that participated in the sessions and took time to provide their views, we look forward to the next steps in the process."
This journey, of course, is far from over and the next phase of the CRMP 2040 will involve evaluating the information gathered by a scoping exercise. Scoping involves engaging with interested parties to discuss how the Service’s known challenges and issues as well as those highlighted as part of the community engagement drop-in-sessions should be addressed.
There is still time to complete the survey, head over to Community Risk Management Plan 2040 to fill it in, your opinions really do matter!
