Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams says the potential sale of fire service headquarters could allow investment in a new 'state-of-the-art' training facility.

Mr Adams has come under criticism for considering the disposal of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service's Pirehill HQ near Stone as part of a wider review into savings and investments.

Earlier this month councillors in the Staffordshire Moorlands passed a motion calling for any proposals to sell Pirehill to be dropped, saying the loss of its training facilities would make the service less effective.

But Mr Adams told a meeting of the police, fire and crime panel that his critics had failed to take into account the purpose of the review and the options being considered.

He said the service is facing a difficult financial situation due to inadequate government funding.

Panel members heard that the sale of Pirehill would generate funds which could be invested in a new training site elsewhere in Staffordshire, leaving the service in a better position despite the worsening funding pressures.

And Mr Adams insisted that moving firefighter training outside Staffordshire would be an 'absolute last resort'.

Mr Adams said: "I've received some criticism for exploring a number of options, including what might we do to make best use of the fire headquarters at Pirehill, which might have meant that I could invest in improved training facilities for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue. But it's been lost, somehow, in the conversation.

"The choice is, potentially, between buildings and fire stations or firefighters. That's not a difficult choice for me to make, so I don't understand where criticism is coming from.

"I'm looking at dozens of options, some practical, some sensible, some a bit uncomfortable, to be frank. But you can't magic a million quid out of nowhere."

Land neighbouring Pirehill is set to be earmarked for development in Stafford's new local plan, potentially making the site more valuable.

Staffordshire Moorlands councillor Charlotte Atkins said the district council's motion had been sparked by concern that selling Pirehill would undermine firefighters' ability to keep people safe.

She said: "There was real concern that training might be outsourced. One of the points made by one retired firefighter is that the strength of the firefighting team is that everyone are all trained to the same standard.

"So when they go out to an incident they know all of them are fully capable of doing everything that needs to be done.

"There's a concern that we could dilute the effectiveness of the firefighting capacity if were to get ride of Pirehill."

Mr Adams told the panel that he thought it unlikely that any firm proposals for Pirehill will be drawn up before his term ends in 2028, when commissioners are set to be abolished.

But he said that the future governance body would have to make the same choice, and preparing a report on the options now would avoid a 'knee-jerking' decision.

An initial report is expected by the end of the year, although it may not be made public.

Mr Adams added: "One of the options I was considering, was with the right sort of receipt, could we build a proper state-of-the-art training facility somewhere within our confines, that was protected or the next 30 or 40 years."

He said that he had been 'a bit disappointed' that the review had been exploited for 'political benefit', and insisted that maintaining the effectiveness of the fire service would always be his priority.

Tamworth councillor Wayne Luca suggested that maintaining firefighter numbers should take priority over buildings.

He said: "For me personally lives will always come before buildings. A building does not save a life, a firefighter does."

Panel chair Richard Cox said there are 'concerns across Staffordshire' that needed to be addressed.