attractive options - Police Aviation News

Police Aviation News May 2011 5
support is devalued as a consequence.
Meanwhile although three units have agreed to go at least one of the threatened units –
South Yorkshire – appears predictably to be holding out. Two of the three have gone,
Hampshire was deleted by its Chief Constable who as the ‘ACPO Lead’ on air support could
be seen to be doing the right thing, and Norfolk went to the wall earlier than intended because
its operator, Sterling Helicopters at Norwich, collapsed. The others under threat of
closure may last a little longer, Wiltshire for 2-3 more years, but that will depend on the size
of the financial stick that will be brought to bear.
Hampshire Constabulary used to control their base – the former Royal Navy air base Leeon-Solent
– but even that has now been given up and operations have passed to the BN
Group rather than the other emergency services air operation of the UK Coastguard. You
can read whatever you like into that, SAR-H fallout included. Future gravel extraction on the
site remains likely.
Hampshire Constabulary gave up the operation in April although their aircraft remains
stored on site awaiting a new owner. BN will be building and maintaining Islanders at Lee
after the company finally realised that being at their traditional factory base of Bembridge on
the Isle of Wight was a massive negative for prospective owners and highly trained employees
who did not wish to maroon themselves on the island.
Ed: All the negative aspects of NPAS can be said to be going pretty much to plan, see also
the reports under Western Counties. No-one has yet explained the odd reversal of plan relating
to ‘working together’ with the air ambulance [summarily rejected by the air ambulance
fraternity as unworkable with a prospective partner that had already unilaterally announced
the dismantling of existing dual purpose arrangements in Sussex and Wiltshire] and ‘a fixed
wing for Dyfed-Powys’. Lack of trust seems at the core of that proposal.
The supposed charging aspect of the Ryton-on-Dunsmore meeting has its funny side too. In
a perfect world everyone would be able to go everywhere for free and it seems that the
PAvCon idea of having an economic event where all police get in free is not catching on in