As reported in last month's EBAN, Cardiff, Europe's youngest capital city, has relocated its heliport. The move represents a spend of nearly £5 million, funded from transport grant resources provided by the National Assembly for Wales.

Helicopters have a long history in Cardiff, the first ever scheduled helicopter service having been established to Liverpool in the 1950s. In the 1970s, the County Council of South Glamorgan established an unmanned landing pad on part of what is now the new facility site to enable investors to gain better access to the development area of south Cardiff and the former docklands. Although the pad had later to be removed, the usefulness of a heliport had been established.

In 1985, the original heliport was set up following an approach by FBO Veritair, then located at Cardiff Airport, to the Cardiff County Council and the Welsh Development Agency (WDA). The hangar and office accommodation was rented by Veritair from WDA. However, the construction of a new peripheral road around Cardiff passed close enough to the heliport to pose a danger to flights, and the heliport had to be relocated.

The design of the new facility was undertaken by consultation with the CAA. It includes additional facilities not present at the previous site. A new vip lounge is included, as is a conference room. As well as expan-ding its own operations from the new site, Veritair manages the public part of the facility, handling in coming flights and providing fuel and back-up.

Said Julian Verity, director of Veritair: "Nowhere else in Europe has a partnership between a successful commercial operator and an enlightened and progressive local authority been harnessed to serve its community's commercial needs so well."

The construction of the heliport has opened up development on a site that has been wasteland since the 1970s. It serves as a base for the South Wales Police and Gwent Constabulary air operation, which provides round-the-clock support for the region.

According to a spokesperson for Cardiff County Council, Cardiff is seen as a secondary destination to Heathrow and Gatwick within the UK. "Consequently Cardiff is misperceived as peripheral to European markets and American linkages. Direct links to international air routes would place Cardiff firmly on the list for internationally mobile investment and enable it to compete in the top rank of European locations," it was stated. The potential for a helicopter service to connect the heliport to Heathrow is currently being evaluated on behalf of Cardiff by Leeds University.

"Cardiff Heliport will form the infrastructure necessary for the commercial possibilities of a scheduled service to Heathrow," it was added. "Cardiff County Council's vision of the city as a European capital of international standard with a quality of life second to none is being achieved faster than many thought possible. A cornerstone of this vision is building partnerships with other organisations and the private sector."