Hospital submits plans for new helipad as part of rebuild

Plans have been submitted for a new permanent helipad as part of Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuild.Angela Eastman, on behalf of the NHS Foundation Trust, has submitted a planning application to West Norfolk Council for a permanent helipad facility near the roundabout outside the hospital.The proposal includes an in-situ concrete helipad, an asphalt paving roadway, and a slab-paved footway to navigate the site. A small welfare unit will be provided alongside PV panels to power lighting, which will aid helicopter landings.

The new site would be located between the A149 Queen Elizabeth Way and the B1145 going east, opposite the existing helipad site at the hospital.This proposal is the first scheme in a series of enabling works to accommodate the development of the new hospital under the ‘New Hospital Programme’.The site was selected due to its immediate proximity to the hospital site – its location allows direct emergency access to aid in reducing travel times, with suitable unobstructed flight paths in and out for air ambulances.

The benefit of relocating the helipad to the opposite field means it is “pushed further from areas with dense residential population, which will also help the noise impac”, supporting planning documents say. A design and access statement created by LSI Architects says: “Our proposal moves the existing helipad provision further from the built-up, residential area nearby, which will reduce the noise impact on local residents.”Currently, the site is utilised for crop by the landowner, who will be leasing the site area to the QEH Trust while continuing to farm the surrounding field area for the duration of the lease. The statement also says the site will be enclosed on all sides by a post and rail timber fence.It also said that 30 landings are anticipated at the helipad per year.