The air ambulance base at Welshpool - which has served many communities across Mid Wales - will close after a campaign to keep it operational was rejected at the High Court.

In April 2024, it was announced that the Welshpool Air Ambulance base, along with the one at Caernarfon, would close and be replaced by a new base in North Wales.

Local campaigners who opposed the closure won the right to challenge the decision in the High Court, but on Thursday last week a judge ruled against their appeal.

Campaigners said they were “extremely disappointed” by the decision and said they would be meeting to discuss the next course of action.

But the Wales Air Ambulance said they welcomed the “clear and unequivocal outcome”.

The case focused on the decision-making process behind the plans. Arguments included claims that the public consultation was inadequate, and that the Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) had failed to properly consider input from patient voice organisation Llais and relevant guidance.

Mr Justice Turner rejected those claims, stating he was “entirely satisfied” that both the JCC and its predecessor had “fully and conscientiously” considered contributions from Llais in line with their statutory duties.

“The fact that the JCC were not simply paying lip service to the view of Llais is perhaps best illustrated by their decision to accede to its request to embark upon a previously unplanned third phase of engagement in the face of the concerns expressed by the charity over the delay,” said Mr Justice Turner.

The Save Welshpool and Caernarfon Air Ambulance Bases Group said it would now meet to discuss next steps.

In a statement, they said: “We are satisfied that Mr Justice Turner listened to the arguments for and against the closure of the Mid and North Wales bases but are extremely disappointed with his determination.

“From the outset we challenged the data, costings, and information which were being presented as facts. Members of the public were originally told that the proposed changes would not lead to a poorer service, but this was not correct. During the hearing we heard that 40 communities will receive a slower response time under the agreed decision.

“We believe that the proposals to close the air ambulance’s bases in Welshpool and Caernarfon were based on flawed information, and that the process had been filled with bias, misinformation and misdirection. We were not asking for preferential treatment; we were asking for fairness. The people of Mid and North Wales deserve the same standard of care as those in urban areas.

“We will now be meeting to discuss the decision and our next course of action, and as a campaign team we will continue to work with all involved to ensure the safety of residents across Wales.

“We would like to register our thanks for the extremely professional way that our claim was presented by Ms Joanne Clements KC and for the work of colleagues at Watkins & Gunn. We also thank the many thousands of people who have offered their support for the campaign.”

The decision to close the bases was made in April 2024 following recommendations from the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS). The JCC approved the proposals by majority, although Powys Teaching Health Board opposed them.

Wales Air Ambulance said the change is necessary to address “unmet need, inequity and service underuse”.

Dr Sue Barnes, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We welcome this clear and unequivocal outcome. This service improvement is important as lives are currently under threat.”

The charity said in 2023 and 2024, crews were unable to attend more than 550 serious incidents in Mid and North Wales between 8pm and 2am. It also highlighted that Welshpool crews went 84 days without seeing a patient in one 12-month period.

Dr Barnes said: “I offer you my heartfelt reassurance that nobody is losing a service. This development is very much about improving the service and not removing it.

“Working together, every development we have made over the past 24 years has improved our service and that’s our only aim. I genuinely believe that we have an opportunity to deliver an even better service for you, saving more lives.”