ISLE of Wight fire stations could get a £3 million upgrade under plans for a combined Hampshire authority.

Islanders will also face a £3 council tax rise if the plans are approved by the Isle of Wight cabinet tonight.

The 11 stations on the Island will be brought inline with mainland standards, if the proposals to merge the Authority get the go-ahead.

Fire bosses say the 'old and poor' state of the stations will require £3 million-worth of work over the next three to five years, with £1.6 million urgently needed in the next two.

Improvements will include modernising the bases, which may include new technology.

Hampshire civic chiefs agreed to push forward with a 12-week public consultation. This decision will be considered by the Isle of Wight cabinet tonight.

If approved, results of the consultation will be published in November.

Speaking at a meeting of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority in Winchester, councillor Christopher Carter said he had spoken to Isle of Wight Council leader Dave Stewart who confirmed the authority would back the proposals.

Currently, the mainland service is made up of crews from Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth.

But taking over the Island’s fire service would cost the combined authority an extra £460,000 a year to 'properly maintain' the service.

Around £200,000 of this will be funded by a Band D tax increase of £3.74 per year, which will only be billed to Islanders.

Rob Carr, chief financial officer at Hampshire County Council, says this is to bring the Isle of Wight's precept charge in line with Hampshire's, which is £65.74.

Other cash, fire bosses say, will be gained from combining assets to reduce unnecessary spending.

Chief fire officer Neil Odin said he was confident that combining the services will be good for the authority.

"We have already gained a great deal of insight from the way the Isle of Wight (fire officers) deals with things," he said.

"On the mainland we have a lot of support from all around us, but the Island force has learnt to be self sufficient. They have learnt a lot of different skills (that we have not)."

Currently, Hampshire fire officers are only deployed to the Island in an emergency, but under the new plans, this would be changed, allowing them to help in less critical circumstances.

The new team would be made up of members from all relevant councils, who would make decisions on all fire related matters.