DURSLEY Ambulance Station is being axed by the region’s ambulance service in a move which will see the ambulance re-homed in Stroud.

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is not renewing its lease on the land at Marment Road in Cam when it expires on December 31 but has refused to explain why.

In May 2011 a ten-year, ongoing, review started of the buildings owned or rented by the former ambulance body, the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS), including Dursley Ambulance Station which was built in 1968.

GWAS had cited concerns the older buildings were costing too much in maintenance fees, with the review carried on when the body was acquired by SWASFT.

A SWASFT spokesman said it was making alternative arrangements for the future provision of ambulance services in the area.

"It is important to note that operational cover is not determined by where a vehicle is garaged," he said.

As of Friday, November 1, the rapid response vehicle will be based at Vale Community Hospital and the one ambulance currently at the site will be based at Stroud Ambulance Station, with discussions taking place to have a vehicle at the Vale Hospital permanently.

Leader of Stroud District Council and Dursley councillor Geoff Wheeler was disappointed with the news.

"It seems to me it provides a very good service so why move one part of it ten miles away?" he said.

"I would rather we retain what we have so far in the Cam area."

Gloucestershire County Council leader Cllr Mark Hawthorne said the announcement must be a "bombshell" and "concerning" for people living in the south of the county.

"Ambulance response times in the past haven’t been good enough and the ambulance trust has worked to address that," he said.

"They need to demonstrate that closing the station won’t make response times worse."

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael said he was shocked and dismayed by the plans and called it a "real blow" to the area.

"I hope that councillors and the trust continue to work together to ensure that ambulance response times are not affected by this unfortunate development," he said.

Locality general manager for SWASFT Keith Scott said residents should not be concerned.

"The trust can make a firm assurance that 999 cover will be maintained within the town," he said.

"The question for us is deciding which location is most appropriate. We are encouraging our staff and other key groups to have their say to look at how operational cover is best managed in 2014 and beyond."

As part of the ending of the lease contract, the building will be demolished at some stage in the future.

The trust initially indicated that the departure was because landowner Stroud District Council (SDC) had served notice that it would not be renewed.

But it later commented that it did not "contest" the decision by SDC to not renew the lease.

A SDC spokesman said: "As far as we are aware, moving from the site suits the ambulance trust and we have had no communication from them indicating that they wish to stay there.

"Should they wish to continue the lease we would be happy to discuss this with them."

A SWASFT spokesman declined to divulge the reason for its axing of the service after repeated requests from the Gazette.