A giant fire control centre that will handle all emergency calls for the West Midlands is costing taxpayers more than £1.7m a year – despite it not yet being up-and-running.

Rent is costing £1.3m while a further £443,000 a year is being spent on maintenance and security for the empty Wolverhampton building.

It is not due to come into full use until 2011, four years after it opened.

The centre being prepared at Wolverhampton Business Park, off Stafford Road, is expected to handle more than 100,000 emergency telephone calls a year and create 130 jobs.

It will have cost £23m by the time it is ready for staff.

Meanwhile, it has emerged the Government signed contracts for the building and computer systems without making sure the business case was sound.

In evidence to an inquiry being heard in Parliament West Midlands Fire Service said the Government has got itself into a situation where it has to proceed even if it becomes unaffordable.

And it has said the building will be too big considering only 25 to 35 staff will be on site at any one time.

Hereford and Worcester Fire Service has described the building as “unacceptably extravagant”.

The National Audit Office has launched a study of the Government’s management of the programme and MPs were hearing evidence today.

Doreen Melville-Riddell, spokeswoman for the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: “The regional control centres are in active day-to-day use. They are being used for a variety of activities including regional exercises.”