SECRET plans have been drawn up to sell Winchester fire station and move to a site at Winnall, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Hampshire's fire service wants to sell its city centre base in North Walls and relocate to its workshops in Easton Lane within two years.

The sale of the North Walls site could bring a £1m-plus windfall and provide space for up to 40 flats.

In turn the 30 workshop staff would be moved to the service headquarters in Eastleigh.

A senior source at the fire service said: "This is worrying. The majority of calls are through the city centre and so the crews will have to battle through the traffic.

"In rush hour that could add two to three minutes to response times. There is bad congestion on the Durngate bridge.

"It is a frightening prospect to sacrifice people's safety for money," said the source, who asked not to be named.

Senior managers have briefed Winchester fire crews about the change.

A statement from the fire service was expected today.

The plan has been greeted with widespread concern.

City councillor Patrick Davies, below right, Labour group leader, said he was angry that the fire service had ignored the Community Safety Partnership, a consultative body linking emergency services and local authorities.

Cllr Davies said: "I have considerable concerns. There must be urgent consultation about this.

"I've checked the fire service website and it's hopelessly out of date. We need to know the statistics to see if this will worsen the service. North Walls is not ideal but a new site will have to be better."

Tory city councillor George Hollingbery, pictured right, said: "This move should only take place if it will increase the safety of Winchester residents. The fire service must consult local bodies to reassure them that the move will improve response times."

Mr Hollingbery called for a public meeting to discuss the move.

Local ward city councillor Dominic Hiscock, a Liberal Democrat, said:

"I hope the fire service has not taken the obvious financial benefits as more important than operational concerns."

Alan Weeks, chairman of Winchester Residents' Association, said: "At certain times Easton Lane is very difficult to negotiate. It will be a major concern if response times were to increase."

Winchester MP Mark Oaten, right, said: "Any change should be for operational reasons and not just to raise cash."

The move comes amid plans for a super-control room across the south-east. It would replace the local control room in Eastleigh.