WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance has had outline permission granted for its new base in Semington.

The operations centre is set to be built at the charity’s preferred site on land at Outmarsh Farm, Semington, south of Hampton Park West Industrial Estate.

The new home would enable the charity’s helicopter, aircrew and office staff to be on one site.

At the moment the helicopter and aircrew are based at a hangar at Wiltshire Police headquarters in Devizes, while the charity team is based in offices on Porte Marsh Industrial Estate, Calne.

The lease on the hangar runs out on December 31, 2017, and the lease on the offices runs out at the end of January 2018.

The charity held a period of public consultation, including a drop-in event at Trowbridge Rugby Club on August 12 about the proposals to build its new home at the Outmarsh Farm site.

Now the charity has agreed to purchase the 12.6 acre site after submitting the outline application in November last year. 

WAA will now undertake further public consultation to obtain the views of local people and stakeholders on the proposed design of the new home, before submitting a reserved matters planning application to Wiltshire Council.

Kevin Reed, head of operations at WAA, said: “We are delighted to have received outline planning permission from Wiltshire Council.

"We searched for over a year to find the most suitable site to build our new home and we carried out extensive public consultation before we submitted our outline planning application.

“The Outmarsh Farm site will enable us to have full control over the land and be future proof.

"It is centrally located in Wiltshire which would enable our helicopter to reach all parts of the county within 11 minutes.

"As Melksham does not have an ambulance station, we believe that Wiltshire Air Ambulance would provide enhanced medical cover for the area.

"As well as responding in our helicopter our paramedics, who have advanced medical skills, can also respond to emergencies such as road traffic collisions, heart attacks and strokes in a rapid response vehicle (car).

“Now we will work on the detailed design of our new home and information on the public consultation we will undertake will be announced in due course.”

The new home will cost up to £4 million, of which WAA hopes to raise £1m through a capital appeal. The remainder will be funded by a private benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous.

WAA’s outline application can be seen at www.wiltshire.gov.uk - the reference number is 15/10766/OUT