Site Selection Assessment A new Home for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Contents 1. The Initial Site Identification Process 2. Analysis of Potential Sites and Recommendations 3. Conclusion 1. The Initial Site Identification Process Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust (WAACT) commenced its search for a suitable location for its ‘New Home’ in July 2014 when it became clear that it would no longer be tenable for the operation to remain at the Police Headquarters in Devizes. Initial site identification was conducted on the basis that all types of site would initially be considered and that, as the selection criteria emerged, the list of potential locations would be progressively condensed to those that reflected the capacity to accommodate the actual operational needs and aspirations of WAACT. It had always been a key requirement that all WAACT activities would be co-located to the same site and that any potential site would need to accommodate this broad mix of uses without compromise. The types of site that were considered include: a) Military sites Wiltshire has a large number of sites under the control of the Ministry of Defence (typically RAF or Army bases). Some Air Ambulances do operate from MOD controlled bases but co-locating within a military establishment does curtail the abilities of the service in regard of charity activities and operational tasking. From the onset of the process it was considered that any potential military site must enable: i. WAACT to have priority in terms of flying operations such that continuity of the effective emergency provision could be maintained. ii. WAACT to have unfettered public access without the normal MOD security control. It should be noted that these requirements are likely to conflict with the primary operational requirements of most military sites. b) Commercial airstrips Whilst there are no significant commercial airports or airfields in Wiltshire there are a large number of smaller, privately controlled, low volume airstrips. Many of these are grass airstrips, which are used for leisure flying and could potentially be an acceptable location. There are not many specific considerations that relate to this source of site other than the practicalities that exist on all potential sites. c) Industrial environments Conceivably an industrial estate or similar with sufficient availability of space may have been an acceptable location for the new home. Unfortunately the quantity of land required, the relative scarcity of such land, the difficulty in acquiring a suitable industrial plot and the potentially high cost of purchasing land already in industrial use meant that identifying a suitable site proved very difficult. d) Rural sites in agricultural use As a county Wiltshire is less intensively developed than others in the South of England and there are large areas of land in agricultural use. On initial assessment much of this land could be considered for the New Home Project but, when assessed more thoroughly, the number of potential locations decreases considerably. Key points that discount many rural /agricultural sites are: i. Incompatibility with the WAACT selection criteria ii. Planning policy being such that achieving a suitable permission would be unlikely or impossible iii. Availability of land which is flat, free draining and free of the threat of flooding iv. Land being located too close to residential areas, or requiring flight paths directly over residential areas v. Land being located in an AONB or similar vi. The suitability of the land for construction 2. Analysis of Potential Sites and Recommendations Following the initial site identification process a total of 19 potential sites were identified as possible locations for the siting of Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s ‘New Home’. All 19 sites were initially assessed against essential criteria as set out below: Criteria 1 – Central Wiltshire and within a 7 nm radius of Devizes Criteria 2 – Full control over land and facilities Criteria 3 – Scope for future proofing facilities* Criteria 4 – Clear of controlled/busy airspace Criteria 5 – Clear of tall obstacles within the immediate vicinity Criteria 6 – Proximity to main arterial routes Criteria 7 – Good surrounding road infrastructure (ease of access for Emergency vehicles, staff, visitors, large delivery vehicles etc) Criteria 8 – Good emergency access to conurbations via Rapid Response Vehicle Criteria 9 – Level ground From a strategic perspective it was clear that Criteria 2 and Criteria 3 were important in allowing WAACT to operate without restriction and to secure effective operations long into the future. WAACT Trustees had also expressed a clear preference to remain within a 7 nm radius of Devizes so that an 11 minute response time could be maintained to all parts of the county. *Whilst there are no plans to develop anything other than the proposals described in the outline application, WAACT require the capacity to accommodate as yet unknown changes that may be required in the future. A table showing each sites performance against the essential criteria is shown below: Initial Site Suitability Assessment Table LOCATION CRITERIA NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Score Keevil Airstrip YES NO NO NO YES NO NO NO YES 3/9 Coate Airstrip YES NO TBA PARTIAL YES NO NO NO YES 3/9 Etchilhampton Airstrip YES NO TBA PARTIAL YES YES YES NO YES 3/9 Dauntsey School YES NO NO NO YES YES YES NO YES 5/9 Edington Airstrip YES NO TBA NO YES NO NO NO YES 3/9 Outmarsh Farm, Semington YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 9/9 Urchfont Airstrip YES NO TBA PARTIAL YES YES NO NO YES 3/9 Redstocks Airstrip, YES NO NO PARTIAL YES YES YES YES YES 5/9 Melksham Westdown Camp NO NO NO NO YES YES NO NO YES 3/9 Wadswick Farm, Corsham NO NO NO PARTIAL YES YES PARTIAL YES YES 4/9 Netheravon Airfield NO NO NO NO YES YES NO NO YES 3/9 Colerne Airfield NO NO NO PARTIAL YES NO NO NO YES 2/9 Redlands Airfield, Swindon NO NO TBA PARTIAL YES NO NO NO YES 2/9 Old Sarum Airfield NO NO NO NO YES YES YES YES YES 5/9 RAF Lyneham NO NO NO PARTIAL YES YES YES YES YES 5/9 RAF Boscombe Down NO NO NO NO YES YES YES NO YES 4/9 Upavon Airfield NO NO NO NO YES NO NO NO YES 2/9 Fullingbridge Farm, NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO 0/9 Westbury Yatesbury Airfield YES NO PARTIAL PARTIAL YES YES YES NO YES 5/9 Whilst the raw data shown above was of some use in the decision making process it was considered important to assess the potential for on-going operational and logistical problems when identifying a short list of sites for further consideration: Of the military bases considered RAF Lyneham (5/9) and RAF Boscombe Down (4/9) were the most likely to be able to accommodate the requirements of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance New Home. On further consideration of these sites there was however a significant concern that WAACT would risk losing control over critical aspects of its vital emergency provision if one of these locations were chosen. It could easily be envisaged that national security requirements would have the potential to make these military bases very busy and delay or deny emergency tasking by the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. In addition the military demand a high level of security and security states would be escalated further at any time in response to issues affecting national security. These security requirements would have the potential to significantly impair public access to the New Home and therefore limit the fundraising activities undertaken by WAACT. It should be remembered that the fundraising activities of the charity are of equal importance as the emergency operations because they are intrinsically linked and entirely co-dependent. The lack of free and unfettered access to these sites would also make other aspects of the project more involved such as construction activity or ongoing deliveries. More importantly the lack of immediate access to the site post completion would potentially impede the transfer of a critically ill/injured patients from a land ambulance when rapid onward transit by air is vital and this could seriously affect clinical outcomes. Both bases fall outside of the 7 nm radius of Devizes so would increase travel times to emergencies in the opposing parts of the county. Keevil (3/9), Westdown Camp (3/9), Upavon (2/9) and Netheravon (3/9) are also military bases and subject to the same restrictions and concerns that are highlighted above. It should be noted that during 2014 and 2015 WAACT had extensive communication with a key representative from MOD Estates regarding the possibility of co-locating within a military establishment in Wiltshire. Following this consultation it was clear that the MOD were unable to accommodate the Air Ambulance operations. Of the remaining potential sites: The Outmarsh Farm location (9/9) was considered to be the preferred site because it was the only one that fulfilled all essential site selection criteria. It was also a very demonstratively flat and level site, free from flooding, easily secured and away from significant areas of residential accommodation. The sites at Outmarsh Farm, Wadwick Farm (4/9), Yatesbury Microlight Centre (5/9) and Fullingbridge Farm (0/9) were to form part of a shortlist for selection and were considered in more detail. Further investigation of these sites was required and a more detailed site assessment for each was needed. The results of this further assessment are included in the accompanying ‘Site Suitability Assessment’ document. At this stage, it should be noted that while three of the sites were technically assessed as suitable there had been no significant commercial discussion as to acquiring them.