Cornwall Air Ambulance Awarded £1m for NQY Base

17.03.11

Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust (CAAT) has been awarded almost £1 million of ERDF Convergence investment to build a new base for the charity and its helicopter at Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY).

The investment, amounting to £949,760 from Convergence with further costs for the capital project to be matched by reserved charitable funds and additional fundraising, will assist the charity in their move from Roche to a permanent home at NQY.

The development includes a 492 sq m hangar for the Cornwall Air Ambulance helicopter and 335 sq m of high quality office space, providing accommodation for both operating crews and the fundraising team.

Airport managing director Al Titterington said: "The new facility is another exciting development here at Newquay Cornwall Airport and will further strengthen the relationship between the Air Ambulance Trust and the airport."

Paula Martin, chief executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, said: "Strategically, this charity is growing quickly, mainly because we need to meet the costs of operating a busy air ambulance helicopter."

“We are very pleased indeed to have secured this significant investment to help pay for something which is truly for the people of Cornwall in the future. We are also very conscious that we utilise charitable funds prudently in providing all aspects of Cornwall’s air ambulance service.”

The building will be situated on the south side of the main runway at Newquay Cornwall Airport and it is hoped work will be completed later this year, with plans for the air ambulance to be operating from the new hangar before Christmas.

Carleen Kelemen, director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “This ERDF Convergence investment is a great example of the growing critical mass of specialist air related businesses – both fixed wing and rotary – at Newquay Cornwall Airport. It is becoming increasingly clear that the economic impact of the airport reaches well beyond its role as a transport hub.”

Cornwall's air ambulance helicopter can reach any part of the county within 20 minutes and the Isles of Scilly in 28 minutes, having carried out more than 22,000 missions since its launch in 1987.