A POLICE authority chairman has made a final appeal to ambulance bosses not to close a control centre.

The North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS) runs control rooms in Newcastle and Middlesbrough, but officials want to move their second control room from Teesside to South Tyneside.

The proposal is in response to Government-backed plans to ensure that ambulance services would not be disrupted if one of their control rooms was put out of action.

The plans, subject to confirmation at a meeting of the NEAS board tomorrow, have stirred up strong opposition in the south of the region, where there is a feeling that operators who work further north will not have as detailed knowledge of the more southerly area.

In a letter to the NEAS, Cleveland Police Authority chairman Councillor Dave McLuckie said the group remained deeply concerned at the implications such a move would have.

He said: "After the strong level of public opposition and the very firm representations made by ourselves and other organisations, such as emergency planning, they can be in no doubt that this is not what people in the south of the region want."

He said the question now was whether the NEAS would respond to comments.

He said: "I hope that they will, because I believe we have worked very hard to meet their requirements for additional space at the force headquarters."

Currently, the ambulance service and police share a base in Ladgate Lane, Middlesbrough.

The police authority is offering the service free space in its headquarters if it moves.

Coun McLuckie said he hoped that when the board meets tomorrow, it will be prepared to listen and respond.

An NEAS spokesman said: "We have met with Cleveland Police on a number of occasions to explore their offer to expand in Ladgate Lane. This will be considered in the trust board reports before any decision is made on Thursday.

"The trust's decision will be based upon evidence on providing the best service to the population of the North-East. This means that the views and opinions of everyone who has commented on our consultation will be considered with equal weighting."