Essex & Herts Air Ambulance gets planning permission for new Airbase

26^th November 2019

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance gets planning permission for new Airbase

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) has received planning permission from Epping Forest District Council for new premises at North Weald which will secure the future of the North Weald operation of the Charity.

EHAAT will make use of a one-off grant of £1.5 million from the Government to help pay for the new Airbase, which will cost around £4.5 million.

Construction of the building will begin next year and is scheduled to be complete during Winter 2020.

Jane Gurney, Chief Executive Officer at EHAAT said: “This is fantastic news. A lot of hard work has gone into these plans over many months, so it is great news to get the green light. The new building will give us security of tenure and will result in significant cost savings compared to leasing a new building built to the same specification.”

As well as facilities for aircraft, vehicles and aircrew, the building will include space for training, mentoring, patient liaison and cross training with other emergency services, which will benefit both EHAAT and the local pre-hospital care community.

It will also provide a visitor centre which will allow EHAAT to welcome and engage with their supporters plus space for the EHAAT Hertfordshire Fundraising Team to work more closely with their clinical colleagues.

In addition to the proposed new Airbase at North Weald, the Charity is also undertaking improvement works to the facilities at its Earls Colne Airbase.

For news and updates on the new base, see: ehaat.org/about-us/north-weald-airbase

-ENDS-

Attached: An artist’s impression of the new airbase.

For more information please contact Gavin Sherriff, PR Officer, on 0345 2417 690.

Notes to Editor:

• Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is a Charity that provides a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
• The service is provided free of charge but, unlike NHS emergency services, the Charity receives no direct funding from the Government or National Lottery. It costs in excess of £750,000 every month to keep the service operational and cover all charitable costs, and this would not be possible without the generosity and goodwill of people and businesses of Essex, Hertfordshire and beyond.
• Each of the Charity’s HEMS teams consist of a Pilot, a Co-pilot, a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic.
• These teams, made up of highly-skilled individuals, tended to 1491 patients in 2018 and are the backbone of your local life-saving Charity.
• The fleet consists of two Air Ambulances, and four rapid response vehicles (RRVs - cars) The RRVs are crewed by a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic and carry the same life-saving equipment as the helicopters.
• During the day, from 7am until 8.00pm, the Critical Care Team provides the service using helicopters based at Earls Colne and North Weald. An RRV is used before sunrise, after sunset or when the helicopter is unable to fly because of poor weather or maintenance.
• Overnight from 7.30pm to 7.30am the service is provided using an RRV based at North Weald.