Plans for Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service to use spare capacity at Surrey's emergency control room will be discussed by the county council's Cabinet next week.

Following the demise of the Government's regional Fire Control centre programme, some fire and rescue services find themselves with outdated control rooms that need to be replaced or upgraded.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service's state-of-the-art mobilising control centre places it in an enviable position, so much so that the Isle of Wight has asked to base it's emergency control centre operation in Surrey.

Members of Surrey County Council's Cabinet will meet on Tuesday 21 June to decide whether the request should be taken up. A report to Cabinet outlines how transition costs of around £276,000 would be paid for by the Isle of Wight.

Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: "Clearly there are benefits to be had by both Surrey and the Isle of Wight if we were to work together on this. Surrey has excellent facilities with spare capacity which make it an attractive proposition to other fire and rescue services. Whatever decision the Cabinet comes to next week people can be assured safety will be our number one priority."

Surrey's Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Owen-Hughes said: "Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has put itself in a strong position by investing in a state-of-the-art mobilising control centre. The technology means we have spare capacity which could be used by another fire and rescue service with no adverse impact on Surrey. There are also potential financial benefits through sharing the costs of operating the mobilising control centre and upgrading technology in the future which could provide better value for money."

The report to Cabinet recommends an agreement be drawn up between Surrey and the Isle of Wight to share mobilising control centre facilities.