Night-time emergency landing site to be built in Paignton
Torbay planners approved the scheme and were told the local community has already raised half the £6,500 needed. The charity will come up with the rest to pay for a 10m (33ft) lighting column next to the playing field at Foxhole Community Centre in Paignton.
Councillors heard the charity was keen on the site because it was close to the A380 with good access to Torbay Hospital. Devon Air Ambulance Trust is setting up a unique network of ‘community landing sites’ and the lighting means it can extend operations in the dark up to midnight.
The charity said in a statement: “The lighting will be used in emergencies and will be operational for the minimum time required to deliver this emergency service.” The lights would be switched on and off by a phone call activated by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services team.
Devon Air Ambulance says on its website: “As the network of landing sites is steadily growing we are able to offer communities an extended service until midnight.”
The charity operates two helicopters in Devon and last year assisted 990 patients, an average of around 19 a week, with crews in the air for an average of around two hours every day.
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