The GWAAC Air Ambulance

Section 73 Application

Why has Great Western Air Ambulance Charity submitted a Section 73 application to vary
the planning conditions for the airbase at Almondsbury?

The planning conditions were set in 2016, the build of the base was finished in 2018 and Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) has been operating from Almondsbury since then. Many of the planning conditions have become irrelevant or are not needed anymore, now the airbase is finished and everything has settled into a routine.

Why has GWAAC asked to change so many planning conditions?

The process and the application fee are the same whether one condition is changed or all of them. It was therefore most efficient to ask for any conditions that might need changing or removing, now or in the distant future, to be amended at once.

What justification does GWAAC have for changing the planning conditions that were set in 2016?

The planning approval was granted at a time when there was lots of local concern about GWAAC and the National Police Aviation Service (NPAS) helicopter moving from Filton to Almondsbury. The impact on the local area was uncertain, and so a cautious approach was taken.

Planning regulations state that planning conditions should be fair, reasonable and practicable, and should be necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development, enforceable, precise and reasonable in all other respects. GWAAC’s planning consultant has reviewed all the planning conditions with us, and requested amendments to or removal of the conditions that we don’t believe meet these criteria now. Any property owner has the right to request amendments to planning conditions using the agreed process.

If the changes are granted, will this change what the airbase is used for?

No, there are no plans to change the airbase away from being the operating base for GWAAC and the NPAS helicopter. We are simply aiming to achieve slightly more flexibility in how we use the airbase, and ensure that the planning conditions which remain meet the criteria outlined above.

What conditions are you asking to be amended?

  • 4 – this condition required certain planting to be carried out during the creation of the airbase. This has been complied with, so we are suggesting that the wording is amended to be about the maintenance of the plants and trees.
  • 7 - this condition required certain actions to be taken around drainage during the creation of the airbase. This has been complied with, so we are suggesting that the wording is amended to be about the maintenance of the drainage system.
  • 9 - this condition required certain actions to be taken around ecology and wildlife habitat during the creation of the airbase. This has been complied with, so we are suggesting that the wording is amended to be about the maintenance of ecology and habitat.
  • 11 – this condition prevents training sessions from starting or finishing at peak times (8-9am and 5-6pm). During 2023, work was carried out to assess the demands on the A38 and it was found that the biggest time of pressure was 6-8am. South Gloucestershire Council’s planning approval for an extension to the airbase states that training should not begin between 6 and 8am. We propose amending this condition to mirror that, so that two sections of the same building do not have two separate timing restrictions on training.
  • 13 – this condition outlined what plans and drawings the airbase should comply with when it was built. These were complied with, so we are suggesting that the wording is amended to be about maintaining the airbase as it was built.
  • 14 – this condition was extremely strict about what aircraft could land at the base, and means that military aircraft cannot land to test their emergency plans and private helicopters conveying dignitaries cannot use the airbase. It also prevents a spare helicopter being stationed at the airbase, for use when the usual helicopters are undergoing maintenance. We are seeking to loosen this limitation, allowing three helicopters to be based at the site if needed, and extending the types of aircraft that can visit.
  • 16 – this condition required a Flight Protocol to be created before the base became operational and updated annually and submitted to the local authority thereafter. The Flight Protocol has not been updated for several years and there is no indication that it will need updating again, unless significant unforeseen changes occur. We are therefore requesting that the wording of this condition is updated, and that the Flight Protocol is only required to be updated and agreed with the Local Authority if necessary.

What conditions are you asking to remove?

  • 2 – this related to the construction materials used in the building of the base and is now redundant.
  • 3 – this related to the external lighting to be created at the base and is now redundant.
  • 5 - this related to the fencing to be created at the base and is now redundant.
  • 6 - this related to tree protection measures during construction and is now redundant.
  • 8 - this related to hedgehog protection measures during construction and is now redundant.
  • 10 - this related to badger protection measures during construction and is now redundant.
  • 12 - this related to archaeological measures during construction and is now redundant.
  • 15 – this condition required that a ‘structured forum’ meet frequently during the building and initial operation of the airbase, and ‘regularly’ thereafter. No end date was given, so this planning condition currently requires the structured forum to meet regularly forever. The structured forum has not met for a significant time and there have been no matters raised for discussion at a forum. GWAAC and NPAS have other methods of communicating with Parish Councils, South Gloucestershire Council and local residents, and we therefore consider the structured forum to be no longer needed.
  • 17 – this condition completely prohibits GWAAC from taking off between 11pm and 7am. No such restriction was placed on NPAS. Whilst GWAAC has no current plans to fly overnight, we seek removal of this planning condition so that we would be able to respond to emergency situations or remove the helicopter from the base if needed. It may be in the future that the nature of our work means that there is a need to fly overnight, and this condition would currently stop us using the helicopter to reach people in rural areas quickly in order to offer lifesaving interventions. Currently GWAAC uses critical care cars rather than helicopters for around 75% of all missions, and we do not anticipate that this will change.
  • 18 - this related to how the construction work would be managed and is now redundant.
  • 19 – this related to noise monitoring requirements during the first year of operation and is now redundant.