Proposals for new 24/7 ambulance hub and multi-storey car park in Suffolk to be discussed

Applications say the proposed ambulance hub would provide an essential service

Author: Joao Santos, LDRSPublished 18th Apr 2024

Proposals for a new 24/7 ambulance hub and multi-storey car park are set to be discussed.

The East Of England Ambulance Trust submitted the plans to Ipswich Borough Council in a bid to bring a state-of-the-art facility to support 97 staff in the delivery of medical services.

The planning statement reads: “The proposed ambulance hub will provide an essential service, providing emergency ambulance services to the borough and wider region.”

The new ambulance hub and three-storey car park would be located on a plot of land north of The Havens, within Ipswich’s Ransomes industrial estate.

The car park would allow for 70 staff places, 42 double-staffed ambulances, five response cars, eight visitor spaces, and two disabled bays — a 10-space cycle shelter is also being proposed.

Although the new hub would also include space for the storage of medical and other supplies, it would not be a base for emergency reponse.

Instead, paramedics would park on-site at the start of their shift and collect their emergency or non-emergency ambulance before leaving the site for a more local stationing point from which to respond to local emergencies.

The proposals are recommended for approval and will be discussed by the council’s planning and development committee next Wednesday.

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