Retired ambulanceman Dennis Overton has accused Great Western Ambulance Service of wasting money on renting offices.

Mr Overton, 73, of Hilperton, believes the former southern ambulance training college in Malmes-bury Road, Chippenham, which closed five years ago, would be better used as the headquarters for GWAS instead of the current headquarters at Jenner House, Langley Industrial Estate, Chippenham.

Leasing Jenner House costs GWAS £154,000 a year while the rates for the former training college are £44,000 a year.

The former training college is now being used for storage.

The college closed as ambulance training evolved and paramedics now do their training at university. The college was used by other ambulance services to train their staff.

Mr Overton, who worked for Wiltshire Ambulance Service for 21 years, said: “GWAS should open up the training college and use it for offices instead of leasing Jenner House, they would save money.

“I don’t think the training college should be used solely for training as times have moved on but it could certainly be utilised as offices. It already has all the facilities in place that are required.”

In 2008 GWAS proposed to relocate Chippenham Ambulance Station from Malmesbury Road to an industrial unit in Bath Road and sell off the Malmesbury Road ambulance buildings to a developer to build houses and industrial units.

However, the plans were dropped a year later as GWAS said the economic climate was not good enough.

Jenner House used to be the headquarters of the Avon, Gloucester-shire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority and GWAS has been based there since it was formed in April 2006.

The lease for Jenner House is now on a rolling, one- year lease.

GWAS is currently exploring merging with South Western Ambulance Service.

A spokesman for GWAS said: “The training college building is not suitable as headquarters premises and it would not have been cost effective to spend the capital sums that would be required to convert it.

“GWAS has continued to use the facilities in Malmes-bury Road – the training college and other buildings – for office accommodation, meeting rooms, training purposes and storage.

“However, because the site has not been fully utilised its future is now being considered as part of the trust’s ongoing estates review.

“Much of that work, including the valuation of the trust’s entire property portfolio, forms part of the continuing due diligence that arises out of the acquisition process (with South Western Ambulance Services).”