December 3, 2019 2.29 pm This story is over 50 months old

Council approves new Air Ambulance HQ near RAF Waddington

It will include its own purpose-built hangar

Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance has been given planning permission for its brand new HQ, which will be based adjacent to RAF Waddington on the A15 Sleaford Road.

As previously reported, the charity submitted proposals to North Kesteven District Council for a new headquarters building near Lincoln. The charity would purchase the land which is currently owned by the Ministry of Defence.

The charity recently received an award of £1.82 million from the Department of Health and Social Care and construction of the new HQ will begin early next year. It is due for completion in the winter of 2020 – click here to keep up-to-date with the project.

Visuals of the proposed headquarters submitted by Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.

The new HQ 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.

The brand new HQ and airbase will also 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.

Another visual of the new headquarters, which would include a hangar and offices.

Enhanced crew training facilities will also be available at the new base.

The air ambulance helicopter currently operates from RAF Waddington and the charity has offices at Bracebridge Heath in Lincoln and Colwick in Nottingham.

How the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance HQ would look from the A15.

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.

Karen Jobling, Chief Executive Officer at the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire 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.

Another visual of the new headquarters.

“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 25th 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.”