A traditional topping off ceremony took place Tuesday, May 19, 2015 to mark the ongoing construction of the new search and rescue (SAR) helicopter base at Newquay Cornwall Airport.
The base will house two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters operated by Bristow Helicopters Ltd, who are taking over delivery of helicopter SAR services throughout the U.K. on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The base is one of a number of new build facilities being developed by Bristow, with its infrastructure delivery partner Balfour Beatty, at commercial airports around the U.K. As the main contractor, Balfour Beatty is outsourcing various aspects of the building works to local contractors in the communities in which the bases are being established. At the forefront of sustainability, the bases will include a raft of environmental technologies, including rainwater harvesting systems.
The topping out ceremony was attended by representatives of Newquay Cornwall Airport, Balfour Beatty and Bristow Helicopters Ltd.
Samantha Willenbacher, Bristow Helicopters Ltd’s U.K. Search and Rescue director, said: “Today’s ceremony is an important and exciting milestone for us as we work towards the base at Newquay going live on Jan. 1, 2016.
“We have been working closely with the Newquay Cornwall Airport team on this development and look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with them throughout the build and once the base becomes operational. We also look forward to becoming a part of the local community.
“The base will provide modern, high quality accommodation for the aircraft and crews while demonstrating how buildings like this can be made highly sustainable and environmentally friendly.”
Al Titterington, managing director of Newquay Cornwall Airport, also welcomed the progress of the new base.
He said: “It was great to join with the key partners in this vital project for Cornwall as we move ever nearer to the build completion. The new base will not only ensure that Cornwall continues to support Search & Rescue operations but will create and safeguard jobs on the airport site. The partnership with Bristow Helicopters highlights the vital importance of Newquay Cornwall Airport to the area from both a business and leisure traveller service perspective.”
Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty Delivery Unit managing director, added: “We are pleased to have reached this significant milestone in the construction of the SAR helicopter base at Newquay Cornwall Airport. We are using our extensive experience of airport construction work to deliver this project which is vital to the ongoing success of this emergency service throughout the U.K.
“We look forward to working with our supply chain partners to provide facilities that fulfill our customer’s expectations.”
Under Balfour Beatty’s contract arrangements with Bristow Helicopters Ltd, at least 35 percent of the companies they engage to work on the infrastructure projects are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The new SAR helicopter base at Newquay Cornwall Airport is due to become fully operational on Jan. 1, 2016. It is one of ten SAR helicopter bases from which the U.K. SAR contract will be delivered. The first two of these bases at Inverness and Humberside began operations on April 1, 2015. In addition Bristow Helicopters currently provides SAR services on behalf of the MCA at Stornoway, in the Western Isles, and Sumburgh, in Shetland which will continue throughout the U.K. SAR contract. The other bases will be located at Caernarfon, Lydd, St Athan, Prestwick and Lee-on-Solent.
