27.11.19
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance see £4.5m airbase approved by council
A proposed £4.5m air ambulance airbase in North Weald, as part of the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) service, has received planning permission from Epping Forest District Council.
Construction on the new facility is set to begin next year, and is scheduled to be completed during winter 2020.
A one-off government grant of £1.5m helped secure EHAAT’s future as a charity.
As well as providing facilities to house the air ambulance service’s aircraft, vehicles and aircrew, there will also be space in the new building allocated for training, mentoring, patient liaison and cross training with other emergency services.
Chief executive officer at EHAAT, Jane Gurney, 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.”
A visitor centre has also been outlined in the plans, allowing EHAAT to engage with the charity’s supporters and work more closely with clinical colleagues and the EHAAT Hertfordshire Fundraising Team.
EHAAT will also be undertaking improvement works to the facilities at its Earls Colne Airbase.