PLANS to sell off the site of Winchester fire station for housing have been put on hold for at least a year, the Daily Echo has learned.

But fire chiefs in the city are still warning it may happen at some point in the future.

As reported in the Daily Echo last month, pictured above right, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is considering moving the fire station from its current location on North Walls to Easton Lane in Winnall.

The new station would be built on land currently used by the force's workshops, which would themselves moved to the service's headquarters in Eastleigh.

Developers in Winchester believe the sale of the prominent North Walls site could generate as much as £1m in revenue for the service, with space at the site for up to 40 flats.

However the proposals have drawn strong criticism from community leaders in the city amid fears that public safety was being swept aside for profit.

Now a senior source at the service says managers have told staff in Winchester that the plans have been put on hold until after the future of the workshops themselves has been decided.

The source, who asked not to be named, added: "Crews in Winchester are still deeply concerned at these proposals.

"The biggest of these concerns is simply access into and through Winchester. Durngate Bridge would have to be negotiated every time the trucks needed to go into the city and it's just too narrow.

"The chance of a serious accident occurring on that stretch of the road is going to be far greater if emergency fire vehicles are forced to use it daily.

"It's also going to affect response time to the other side of the city quite dramatically."

However a spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue denied any firm decision to relocate the station had been made and reiterated the plan was only being discussed at an internal level.

They said: "With regard to the possibility of re-siting the fire station, such a decision would only be taken after a thorough emergency review, and only if relocation confers an advantage in terms of emergency cover and reduced risk to the people of Winchester."

They added that the fire service would not just move for financial reasons, and that any such move would only come about following full public consultation.