New £22m fire HQ -- just three years after last one ...

The new call-handling centre, which will open in Merton in 2010, will link up with eight regional centres around the country. It is part of a government programme to bring the fire and rescue service up to standard to deal with major natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

But critics claim it would have been more economical to upgrade the existing centre. This was opened in 2004 and hailed by former fire services minister Nick Raynsford as a model control room on which the other regional centres could be based. It has 25 staff, with 16 on duty at any one time. Under the new plan, it will close to make way for the Merton site.

Dean Mills, national officer of the Fire Brigades Union, described the Merton centre as "a ludicrous waste of money" and dismissed claims that only a new facility could handle the most up-to-date technology and be secure from attack.

He said: "They used the Greenwich control centre as a model for the other eight centres. Now they're saying this isn't the right model even though all the others are based on it.

"Nobody wants the regionalisation to take place, certainly not the public who are going to have to pay for it. The technical argument is nonsense - the technical capability could be built into any of the control centres.

"If you're going to question the resilience of Greenwich, then you need to look no further than how well it coped during previous attacks on London."

Brian Coleman, Conservative deputy chairman of the London Assembly, described the situation as "ridiculous". But local government minister John Healey insisted there was a "compelling" need to improve existing control rooms to deal with large-scale incidents.

He said: "The Government's top priority is protecting the public and increasing the nation's resilience. That's why we are investing in the new national network of regional control centres. These will provide the fire and rescue service with a modern, effective control and mobilisation system that will better protect the public."

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: "The absolute worst case scenario is that if a bomb blew up the existing control room, there are back-up arrangements but they would not be as good."

Valerie Shawcross, who chairs the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, said: "London already has a first-class emergency fire call-handling centre run by highly dedicated and professional staff, but we recognise the benefits the introduction of new technology and improved resilience can bring.

"This new control centre will give us a secure place in a national system so London can have strong fallback arrangements and support other fire and rescue services if necessary."