JOBS will be lost after members of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue service voted unanimously to merge with Dorset’s fire service.

The business case for the merger states that likely losses include the equivalent of more than 19 full time staff across both services.

Redundancy costs for these positions are expected to be anywhere from £313,000 to £423,000 with a further £200,000 earmarked for redundancy and pensions costs for senior management staff.

As well as these losses Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s best case scenario from the merger option involves cuts of £403,000 to senior management staff, though it is not yet clear how these will be made.

These jobs are to be cut in order to save frontline services, allowing cover across the two counties to remain much the same with front line fire engines remaining in all the same locations as they are currently.

However, after all of the savings outlined above, and the benefit of additional savings from the pay award and Joint Command and Control Centre, there will still be a deficit of between £1.6million and £300,000.

Potential savings making up to £1.5million of this shortfall could be possible in future, meaning that the service should still be afloat in 2017/18.

Dorset Fire Authority unanimously agreed to the move at a meeting held in Dorchester on 4 November following a 13 week public consultation which showed overwhelming support for the merger on both sides.

Work will now start to develop a Combination Order, which will need to be laid before Parliament with a new Combined Fire Authority planned to be founded on April 1 2016.

The Chairman of Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority, Cllr Christopher Devine, said: “The public consultation carried out over 13 weeks showed a clear preference for combination over the other options.

“Taken alongside the potential savings, which are so necessary when our Government grant is being reduced year on year, there was only really one decision we could make.”

Chief Fire Officer Simon Routh-Jones added: “I have always been certain that combination offers the best possible future for Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, our staff, and the communities that we serve.

“I am determined that local people will continue to have an outstanding Fire & Rescue Service, and combination with Dorset gives us that certainty. I am very grateful to everyone who took the time to participate in the 13 week consultation, as that feedback gave us the firm foundations we needed for what has been the most important decision in the service’s long and illustrious history.”