PLANS to build a new fire station in Winchester have been unveiled.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) has asked city planners for permission to put a new £4m facility on its workshop site off Easton Lane.

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It’s part of the service’s plans to move from its current city headquarters in North Walls, which fire chiefs say has no capacity to expand, has bad access and is further from the M3 than the new site.

Alan House, deputy chief fire officer of HFRS, said: “Our intention is to bring a modern facility, incorporating environmentally friendly and energy efficient features to the city and its people.”

The existing fire station in North Walls is set to be torn down and replaced with sheltered housing.

The service revealed last year that the highest of the nine offers – undisclosed but likely to be a seven figure sum – for the site was from Renaissance Retirement Ltd.

The consultation period for the planning application ends on Thursday, June 11.

A decision is expected by the middle of August.