PLANS for a new £6million fire station have been submitted to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have applied for planning permission to demolish the current building at West Ham Close and to build a new fire station and training tower with a link to a new smoke training building.

An existing office block and breathing apparatus training chamber will be used as a temporary station whilst the work is being carried out.

The current station was built in the 1966 but Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service say it is expensive to run and the current station “lacks the facilities required by a modern fire service”.

The fire service say that the improved facilities will provide modern living quarters for staff, including improved eating, sleeping and restroom facilities, and enhanced training facilities which will enable service training courses to be run from the station.

In addition, more space will be available to house 10 specialist vehicles that will be based at the station and community rooms will be built for use by the public.

If plans for the new station are approved, the modernised building is expected to take 16 months to be built and is hoped to be completed by the end of 2016.

Brian Rudman, group manager at Basingstoke fire station, said: “Basingstoke is now our largest station in terms of the number of vehicles and the new facilities would further enhance our ability to be able to respond to 999 calls.

“A new station will be an investment in the future of Basingstoke and provides fantastic new facilities for both firefighters and the public.”