St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has submitted a planning application alongside its joint venture partner, Devon County Council for a new Ambulance Special Operations Centre (ASOC West) at the £210 million Skypark* scheme, situated to the north of Exeter Airport in the South West.
The proposals lodged with East Devon District Council will involve developing a 24,165 sq ft purpose-built facility on behalf of the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, which has expanded the geographical reach of its emergency ambulance services across the South West**.
If approved, the application will see the Trust establish a flagship operational ambulance facility located within the initial phase of development at the 1.4 million sq ft Business Park, which offers strong transport links with the main M5 motorway following the recent completion of two multi-million pound access points into the scheme.
The Trust will also be the first commercial building occupier to benefit from the ground-breaking £3 million E.ON Energy Centre located at the development that will provide a sustainable and cost-effective source of energy for all Skypark occupiers via a district heating system, once fully operational this summer.
Ian Guy, Senior Development Manager for St. Modwen in the South West, Devon County Council’s joint venture partner on the Skypark scheme, commented: “Our proposals for this state-of-the-art facility is another major step forward for Skypark’s first phase of development and follows closely on the successful completion of the innovative Energy Centre, the first facility of its kind in the region last September.
“Significant investment has been injected into improving Skypark’s overall infrastructure and connectivity over the past year to accommodate occupiers and we have worked closely with the Trust to ensure that our plans will enable the delivery of an effective and essential rapid response service for the South West.”
A team of 42 specially recruited, trained and equipped ambulance paramedics will be based at the Centre along with a further eight ambulance staff to provide a range of administrative, managerial and other Trust wide support.
Ken Wenman, Chief Executive at South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust, commented: “We required a location that would enable us to respond to a wide range of challenging incidents as quickly as possible at any hour of the day. Skypark proved an ideal solution with its quick access to the motorway and the communities along the M5 corridor.”
On completion, Skypark, one of the key developments forming part of the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point initiative***, will provide 1.4 million sq ft of warehouse, industrial and office space and deliver up to 6,500 new jobs.