New Yorkshire Air Ambulance base plans approved

The new site is 3.5 miles (5.6km) from YAA's current site at RAF Topcliffe

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) has been granted planning permission for a new purpose-built airbase in North Yorkshire

The site at Skipton-on-Swale, near Thirsk, will provide the service with a permanent home in the area, having previously been based at nearby RAF Topcliffe.

The YAA said the base would include a simulation suite, crew accommodation and a clinical planning room.

Chairman Mike Harrop said: "This has already been a long journey for YAA and, after searching for a number of years, to now secure the right site for our new Northern Airbase is very exciting."

He added: "If we could ask for any site, this would've been it. Its location is perfect in terms of the area of Yorkshire and in terms of villages nearby."

According to the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust, the Skipton-on-Swale site was used by the RAF during World War Two but has been unused since 1950.

Mike Harrop, Chairman of Yorkshire Air Ambulance says their new site is 'ideal'

The new multi-million pound site will act as a long-term base for the charity alongside their air support unit in Nostell, near Wakefield.

YAA said it hoped to move to the new facility by the summer of 2026 adding that the cost of the project would be covered by pre-planned savings and investments, grant funding, philanthropic support and private donations.

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