THE air ambulance serving Thurrock and the surrounding district is celebrating after taking possession of its new purpose-built airfield.

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) now has its new state-of-the-art airbase at North Weald Airfield which includes an interactive visitor centre which will allow the charity to welcome and engage with the local community.

In addition to housing one of EHAAT's two helicopters and two of its rapid response vehicles, the new building has areas for training, mentoring, patient liaison and fundraising. There is space for cross training with other emergency services.

The new building, which includes a hangar capable of housing two helicopters when necessary (for example, to permit aircraft maintenance) has underground heating beneath the helipad to keep it free of snow and ice during the winter months.

The building has been designed with `green' issues very much to the fore. It includes charging points for electric cars and electricity-generating panels on the roof. Any excess will be supplied to the National Grid.

There is bicycle parking for staff who wish to cycle to work and as much waste as possible will be recycled. The building has been well insulated in order to retain heat and reduce noise pollution and it will make as much use as possible of natural light in order to save on electricity.

Work on the facility began in February 2020. Project managed by quantity surveyors Castons, and designed by architects Hurley Porte and Duell and structural engineer specialists Superstructures, the new airbase was built by Barnes Construction and has been delivered on time despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a handover, EHAAT CEO Jane Gurney and Operations Director Cliff Gale took possession of the building from Mark Hart, Joint Divisional Managing Director of Barnes Construction. This was carried out via a video link.

Jane Gurney said: "The opportunity to design and build our own airbase has allowed us to include elements such as dedicated areas for training which will benefit not only our crews, but also the local pre-hospital care community along with an interactive visitor centre for our supporters, who we look forward to welcoming to this incredible new building when such visits become possible again.

Ms Gurney thanked fundraisers and donors for making the move possible and helping to secure the charity's future.

Mark Hart said: "We are proud to have played a key part in the construction of this new airbase, which is a true community-based project that will help everyone. The project has been a collaborative team effort and I'm very grateful to Castons, Superstructures and Hurley Porte and Duell in particular, for helping us to get the scheme delivered on time, and under the most extreme and challenging circumstances due to Covid-19."

Work has now begun on the internal fit out phase, and it is scheduled to become operational by June of this year.

Visit the link here to see a time-lapse of the complete external build.

And if you wish to make a donation to the service, you can do so here.