PLANS for a new £5 million fire station in Chester have been branded an “outrageous misuse of public money” ahead of a crunch planning committee meeting.

An application to replace the current facility on St Anne Street has been recommended for approval by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning team.

A total of 196 households and organisations were consulted on the proposals, with objections received from seven.

Cheshire Fire Authority chiefs maintain the current building is “not fit for purpose” being too expensive to run and unable to meet modern standards for disability access and energy costs.

However, some residents have questioned the need for a new station when public money is so tight.

In an objection letter to the council, one resident wrote: “£5.5million is an outrageous misuse of public money.

“What is the proven need for a new build fire station? All options to refurbish and update the existing building should be considered before demolishing the facility.”

And another added: “It seems criminal to me to even think about spending £5.5m of taxpayers’ money on something we don`t really need, especially when we can`t even afford to have the roadside drains cleaned out.”

Cheshire Fire Authority said last year that funding for the new building will come from a combination of reserves, borrowing and revenue from the sale of the land.

There had been plans to build student accommodation at the rear of a smaller fire station on the St Anne Street site but they fell through.

Under the current proposals, a temporary fire station would be constructed while the current one – built 47 years ago – is demolished and replaced.

If the plans are approved, work on the site could begin in January 2019 and would take around 15 months to complete.

Chief fire officer Paul Hancock said previously: “I can reassure residents and business owners in Chester that this project will not affect our emergency response in the Chester area.

“There will be no interruption to fire cover as our crews will continue to operate from a temporary fire station on the current site during the construction period.”

Bosses say that anticipated benefits of the new building include:

• Modern training facilities, which will help firefighters get even better at keeping communities safe.

• The new layout and design will improve accessibility for all.

• Energy costs and carbon footprint will be reduced, helping the environment.

• Maintenance costs will be reduced, with a more effective and efficient building and use of space.

However, a group of former firefighters have raised serious concerns about cuts to the city's fire service.

They said they “dreaded the consequences” of the decision to remove one of the two fire engines from the St Anne Street station.

The vehicle was transferred to the new station on Powey Lane in Mollington, which opened in January with the aim of providing quicker access to incidents on the nearby motorways.

They say the application for the new fire station is part of the general plan to downsize the firefighting team in Chester.

Members of the council’s planning committee will make a decision on the application next Tuesday (November 6).