THE Wiltshire Air Ambulance charity’s aspiration was to find a site for a custom-built airbase which it would own as well as bring together the operational, fundraising and administrative teams.

Working alongside land ambulance crews and other emergency services, the charity delivers the best possible care to anyone who lives, works or travels in Wiltshire, as well as neighbouring counties such as Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset.

The service operates up to 19 hours a day, 365 days a year and flies, on average, two to three times a day. Over the last 26 years it has flown over 16,000 potentially lifesaving missions.

During this time the helicopter and aircrew have been based at Wiltshire Police’s headquarters in Devizes.

For 24 years Wiltshire Air Ambulance shared a helicopter with Wiltshire Police and when that partnership came to an end in December 2014 the charity began operating its own helicopter, a stateof-the-art Bell 429, as a stand-alone air ambulance.

The aircrew and helicopter are currently based at the Operations Centre at Police Headquarters, Devizes, while the charity’s administration and fundraising team are based in a rented office in Calne.

This was always a short-term measure as the lease at the Operations Centre at Police Headquarters expires in December 2017 and the lease at Calne runs out in January 2018.

The charity’s aspiration was to find a site for a custom-built airbase which it would own as well as bring together the operational, fundraising and administrative teams.

After an exhaustive search the perfect location was found – a 12.5 acre site on land at Outmarsh Farm, Semington, near Melksham.

This site is centrally located and will enable the air ambulance to reach all parts of Wiltshire within 11 minutes, as it currently does from its base in Devizes.

Having been granted planning permission for the site the challenge now is to raise the remaining £1.25 million to pay for the building and fit it out with medical and helicopter equipment and general fixtures and fittings.

Construction work is set to start on the new airbase this spring.

Cheryl Johnson, head of Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s Airbase Appeal, says: “We can only do what we do thanks to an amazing family of supporters and volunteers. Together we make an air ambulance service in Wiltshire possible and with your help we can build a better future by making our new airbase a reality."