Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance given go ahead to build new HQ

A brand-new Headquarters for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) has been granted planning permission by North Kesteven District Council. The Charity’s new future-proof home will be based adjacent to RAF Waddington on the A15 Sleaford Road.

The new Headquarters will see Charity staff, crew and helicopter all based under one roof; the facility will include a helicopter take-off and landing pad for both day and night operations as the Charity moves to full 24/7 coverage early next year.

With the Charity’s operations and offices currently based on separate sites, the move will allow for closer working between staff and crew, whilst providing a facility for visitors, former patients, volunteers and benefactors to visit the Charity and support their fundraising efforts.  The air ambulance helicopter currently operates from RAF Waddington, whilst the Charity has offices at Bracebridge Heath in Lincoln and Colwick in Nottingham.

The brand-new Headquarters and airbase will have its own purpose-built hangar with space to enable on-site engineering, along with housing for the Charity’s Critical Care Car with direct access onto the road network for faster response time. Enhanced crew training facilities will also be available at the new base, which will help clinicians to develop their skills further and prepare for the incidents they respond to.

To support the funding of their new home, the Charity recently received an award of £1.82million from the Department of Health and Social Care. The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance was successful in its application for funding when £10million was set aside by Chancellor Phillip Hammond to help support UK air ambulance charities with capital projects.

Karen Jobling, Chief Executive Officer at the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, said: “This brand-new Headquarters for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is something that the Charity has envisaged for quite some time, so we’re delighted to have been given the go ahead for this wonderful project.

“Our new base will give us security of tenure, as well as the space and facility to further develop our life-saving service. As we celebrate our 25^th Anniversary this year, it’s fitting that we are laying the foundations for the next 25 years to ensure we can continue to provide pre-hospital critical care to our patients.”

Construction of the new HQ will begin early next year and is due for completion in the winter of 2020.

To keep up to date with the latest developments of this project, visit www.ambucopter.org.uk