THE Government has given formal approval to the merger of Wiltshire and Dorset fire services.

Both services are facing major cuts to their funding so it has been agreed they will merge to prevent any major cut to frontline services.

One of the final stages was to ensure the necessary legislation was in place, and now this has been secured, the merger will formally be completed on April 1, 2016.

Fire Services Minister Penny Mordaunt said: “I’m delighted that this locally led merger is now going ahead as it will bring great benefits to the local fire and rescue service, and local people as a result.

“Back office collaboration frees up more funds and resources for the frontline and this merger will save the two authorities £4.5million a year.

“We are backing this deal with £5.5 million from the Government’s Fire Transformation Fund to help extend the authorities’ excellent fire prevention work, and I look forward to seeing the progress that is made in the future.”

The order formally lays down certain decisions which had been agreed about the merger. For example, it says how many members from each council will make up the new fire authority. Swindon will have five members, an increase of one on the current authority although this will be a relatively smaller number in a 30-member body.

There was extensive consultation on the merger and overwhelmingly the results showed people in both counties were in favour of the move given the current state of finances.

Last week it was announced that Darran Gunter, the existing chief fire officer at Dorset, will be leading the new service. Wiltshire’s CFO Simon Routh-Jones will continue in his role until the merger is completed when he will move into a new role.

Coun Chris Devine, chairman of Wiltshire & Swindon Combined Fire Authority, and Coun Rebecca Knox, chairman of Dorset Fire Authority, said in a statement: “Darran will continue working closely with elected members on the Joint Committee overseeing the combination, and staff in both Wiltshire and Dorset Fire & Rescue Services, to create a new organisation, its vision, and its future strategies and priorities.

“We are very grateful to Simon Routh-Jones, Chief Fire Officer of Wiltshire FRS, who has been instrumental in the combination strategy, and we would like to thank him for all he has done in getting the project to this stage.

“He will continue to work with Darran to support the process to its conclusion.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Darran, Simon and both fire and rescue services to build and develop a new, unified and successful fire authority."