MALPAS Fire station, situated near the Brynglas Tunnels in Newport, could relocate depending on if a proposed M4 relief road goes ahead.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority said that if a new road were built or the existing motorway were widened they would look at their provision across Newport, with another location potentially allowing better access to emergencies.

A Blaenau Gwent spokesman said it was unlikely Malpas Fire Station would close.

Steve Rossiter, head of service performance and communications, said “[Malpas Fire Station] is unlikely to close. The potential is it may move depending on the location of a relief road.”

“Malpas was not considered as part of a general review of the service because of a lack of progress on the relief road,” he said.

The station covers around 20 square miles and serves a population of roughly 76,000 with most call-outs being to the surrounding Bettws and Malpas areas. Crews currently deal with around 2,000 incidents per year with dwelling fires, unwanted fire signals, traffic collisions and malicious calls the most common.

Mr Rossiter said: “ If the road infrastructure were to change, we would review our fire cover in that area.”

He added that in his opinion the M4 relief project was “a pivotal piece of work for business in South Wales in general.”

The closure of Blaina fire station would potentially put 15 jobs at risk, but the fire authority’s Deputy Chief Officer Sally Chapman said the majority of station staff could be redeployed to other locations.