Nine mile – huge new perimeter fence around RNAS Culdrose completed by VIVO
Image courtesy Royal Navy
Work started on removing the existing fence in January 2024 and in under ten months the new nine-mile structure is now in place.
It has been a major undertaking to keep the Royal Navy helicopter base, near Helston, in west Cornwall, secure and complete the work around the entire perimeter of the Cornish air station ahead of schedule.
As well as the fence, which includes new red and white panels to mark the approach to each runway for incoming aircraft, several new gates have been installed and 6,600 new trees planted on land away from the airfield.
The project was overseen by our VIVO Defence Services Built Estate team at the base, who worked with tier one supply chain partner Littlewood Fencing Group on the project for the
Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Royal Navy Command Infrastructure, and the RNAS Culdrose Infrastructure Team.
Pictured is the air station’s commanding officer Captain Stuart Irwin thanking the team - Jason Thorpe, site manager for Littlewood Fencing, with (left) Neil Howe, head of infrastructure at RNAS Culdrose and VIVO project manager Gareth Payne and VIVO regional project lead Terry Grimes.
Captain Irwin said: “I have to congratulate all the team on completing this major work ahead of schedule. They’ve been working all this year and I am well aware that any project on this scale will inevitably create its fair share of challenges, which have all been overcome.
“This investment also demonstrates the importance of RNAS Culdrose as the home of the UK’s maritime Merlin helicopter fleet. It recognises that the air station continues to play a central role in the defence of our nation.”
Our operations director for VIVO, Amanda Hill, said: “Replacing nine miles of security fencing around one of the Royal Navy’s most strategically important air stations is quite a task and I congratulate everyone involved for completing this ahead of time and within the budget.
“I would also like to applaud the fact that 6,600 trees were planted across the base as part of this project as this will have a long-term positive impact on the environment.”
RNAS Culdrose, at Helston in Cornwall, is the home of the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare Merlin Mk2 Helicopter Force which protects UK waters and the navy’s carrier strike groups. The air station also trains aircrew in fixed-wing Avenger aircraft, and tests and evaluates drones for use by the Royal Navy.
VIVO Defence Services – a joint venture between Serco and Equans - works for the UK military and its partners providing maintenance for military Service Family Housing in the southwest and southeast and for the MoD’s Built Estate in the central and southwest areas on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
It also provides services for the United States Visiting Forces in England (USVF), the government’s Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the MoD’s Volunteer Estate.
