Gloucestershire Police and the Fire and Rescue Service will be working more closely together, following a pledge by the county council.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl said he had deferred putting forward plans to take over the fire service pending closer cooperation with the local authority.

At a full council meeting earlier this month, the county council agreed on a motion proposed by Cllr Jeremy Hilton and seconded by Cllr Paul Hodgkinson to open up discussions with Mr Surl about opportunities for both services to work together on mutually beneficial projects.

Work will begin to identify areas where there is a crossover of skills or information that present new opportunities to collaborate.

The motion read: “The county council welcomes the decision of the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner to withdraw his bid to takeover the governance of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

"The county council notes that 2017 Police and Crime Act places a duty on the blue light services to work together to provide more effective service to their communities.

"The county council notes that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has an excellent track record on collaborating with the other emergency services on mutually beneficial projects.

"The county council notes that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue is currently consulting on its draft Integrated Risk Management Plan for 2018-2021.

"The county council therefore resolves to support the cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure in opening up discussions with the Police and Crime Commissioner about opportunities for both services to work together on mutually beneficial projects, with both themselves and also with the ambulance service.”

Cllr Jeremy Hilton commented: “Emergency services across Gloucestershire all have the same goal: to save lives and keep the county safe, and I am extremely proud of the excellent examples of collaboration between fire, police and ambulance services being seen on a daily basis.

“We need to remember that Gloucestershire pioneered blue light collaboration when the three services opened the TriService Centre at Quedgeley.

“Our unanimous vote at council last week will now enable officers to get on with what they do best, and I look forward to seeing even more joint working across our blue light services in the future.”

Cllr Nigel Moor, cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure said: “Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and colleagues in the police are already demonstrating what can be achieved by working together.

"By formalising this approach and taking collaboration a stage further, we can keep our county safe whilst delivering even greater value for money to residents.”

Mr Surl also commented: “Some of the things I hope we can achieve through a closer relationship - like developing retained fire stations as emergency centres which would improve visibility and help reduce feelings of isolation in rural communities - have already been done successfully in other parts of the country and I am encouraged by the county council’s desire for greater collaboration that will enable us to do just as well.

“But key to any future collaboration is a clear understanding of the financial parameters in which we work and that will require a budget paper which clarifies the fire precept along with the services’ medium-term fiscal plan. The equivalent for the police is readily available”.