Ambulance chiefs plan new base in Brighton

Ambulance service managers hope to build a new base on the edge of Brighton.

As a result, they have identified six ambulance stations at risk of closure.

They want to build the new base at Woollards Field off the A27 Lewes Road in Falmer, next to The Keep – the new library and archive centre which is currently being built.

South East Coast Ambulance Service described the new base as a “make ready centre” where specialist staff clean, maintain and restock ambulances and other vehicles used by paramedics.

Crews also clock on and off duty at existing make ready centres, including one in Hastings, although many spend their shifts based elsewhere.

The ambulance stations at risk of closure are in Brighton, Hove, Lewes, Newhaven, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath.

The ambulance service said that many existing ambulance stations were built more than 30 years ago and not necessarily in the best place to serve patients.

Hence ambulances and paramedic crews were often on standby in other places.