THE North-East fire control centre was facing the axe last night amid claims the Government was preparing to slash the controversial project.

The regional headquarters, in Belmont, Durham, is standing idle, costing the taxpayer more than £100,000 a month – and reports yesterday claimed that only five of England’s nine control rooms would go live.

Defence contractor EADS, which is supplying the offices’ computers, has recommended the project could be scaled back to save money.

Chief executive Robin Southwell said: “We believe the number can come down significantly, saving maybe hundreds of millions of pounds.

“Any of those buildings not being used could be adapted for other uses.”

Fire Minister Bob Neill said the Government was committed to ensuring value for money and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.

But Pete Wilcox, regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the Government had caused massive confusion over the project and called for it to be scrapped.

The national scheme of regionalisation was aimed at making fire services more efficient.

But it will now cost £423m, nearly four times the original estimate, and will be finished in 2012, five years late.

Yesterday, Mr Neill said: “The most important thing for me as Fire Minister is the safety of communities.

“My second priority is to get good value for the taxpayer.

“As with all major Government projects, FiReControl is under close scrutiny for value and achievability.

“I’ve been very clear that the project must now be delivered by the main contractor EADS to time, to cost, and to quality.

“The Government is committed to ensuring value for money for the taxpayer, improving resilience and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.”

But John Hindmarsh, regional project director for North-East fire control, said that he was looking to bring the project to fruition and had people working towards that goal.

Mr Wilcox said: “It would not be a good use of public money to throw good money after bad money.

“We believe that if the IT structures were improved in the current systems then it would provide a better service, not just for the fire and rescue service but for the public.”

The Belmont HQ would replace existing control rooms in Durham, Hartlepool, Newcastle and Morpeth.

North Yorkshire’s fire control room, in Northallerton, is earmarked to make way for a multi-million pound centre at Wakefield, in West Yorkshire.