A National Highways investment is helping lifesaving work in Cornwall through its Social Value funding programme.

As part of the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross road upgrade, the company has provided Cornwall Blood Bikes with £10,000 to purchase a brand new and adapted BMW motorbike to bolster its fleet providing a rapid response medical transport service for the NHS.

The bike, named Unn Para – One Team in Cornish – was officially handed over to the charity at the Ocean BMW dealership in Falmouth by Jordan Fortune, National Highways’ Assistant Project Manager for the A30 scheme.

And already, the bike and its riders, are out on the roads of Cornwall, including the newly opened A30 dual carriageway between Chiverton and Carland, transporting bloods, platelets, samples, donor breast milk, surgical instruments and other medical products where needed.

Cornwall Blood Bikes’ team of volunteers clocked up a total of 212,525 miles last year, covering 6,481 deliveries, and next April will mark the charity group’s 10th anniversary.

The group welcomes bike number 12 to the fleet
The group welcomes bike number 12 to the fleet (Submitted)

Cornwall Blood Bikes chairperson Jayne Penlerick said: “A very big thank you from all the volunteers at Cornwall Blood Bikes to everyone at National Highways for their donation towards this new addition to our fleet of blood bikes.

“The bike is now operational and has covered just over 2,000 miles. It truly will go on to help others and cover the A30 network many times a day and night.”

The Blood Bikes team also works closely with the Cornwall Air Ambulance service, providing regular supplies to ensure the team is equipped to provide lifesaving care, including transfusions, at incidents and call-outs across the county and Isles of Scilly.

And as part of its charitable funding, National Highways has invested a further £2,000 to purchase a new flight suit for the Cornwall Air Ambulance team, recently handed over at their Newquay Airport base.

The company’s Social Value fund has already been instrumental in supporting the project team in helping local communities bordering the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme.

From the left, Critical Care Paramedic Will Damerell, in flight suit, with Jordan Fortune from National Highways, Cornwall Air Ambulance Fundraising Officer Julia Jeffery and Air Operations Officer Steve Garvey
From the left, critical care paramedic Will Damerell, in flight suit, with Jordan Fortune from National Highways, Cornwall Air Ambulance fundraising officer Julia Jeffery and air operations officer Steve Garvey (Submitted)

A further £46,000 funding has realised a number of environmental projects, including a sensory garden, at Nansledan School, near Newquay, as well as enabling East Wheal Rose Football Club and the Cornwall Saracens Basketball Club to purchase new equipment, and a much-needed investment for St Allen Parish Council to install a new path and replace old and broken play area equipment at Zelah.

Nick Simmonds-Screech, project director for the scheme, said: “The Social Value Fund is a fantastic way in which we can complement our scheme and help local communities alongside our road network.

“While our focus is to deliver a high quality, safe road network, we’re passionate about making a positive impact on our local areas and communities, and we’re delighted to have been able to benefit a number of communities bordering our A30 road scheme.” 

National Highways launched its first Social Value Plan in October 2022, and this year some £220,000 has been spent on supporting the wellbeing of communities living near its roads. To find out more details about National Highways’ Social Value fund, click here.

The new A30 dual carriageway fully opened for traffic in June, and the project will be formally completed over the coming months, with ancillary, and finishing-up works.

This will include structural work, local authority road refinements, landscaping, planting, and other environmental and ecological work to be completed before the site closes.