As part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to increase accessibility to testing, the Department of Health and Social Care is to begin work this week on a new drive-in COVID-19 testing centre at Tangmere airfield.

West Sussex County Council owns the land where the testing centre will be located and has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care in making the site available.

The new facility will provide regional testing capacity for the government’s Test and Trace scheme. Testing will also continue to be conducted at the Gatwick regional testing centre, as well as at mobile testing units and through home delivery kits.

Residents in the Tangmere area may notice an increase in vehicle movements around the airfield site as work begins on building the temporary facility. Discussions are ongoing to ensure the local impact of traffic to and from the site is kept to a minimum.

The new testing centre is now open.

West Sussex residents with symptoms of COVID-19 should continue to request a free test for the virus at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

Getting tested if symptoms arise is key to ensuring we can #KeepWestSussexSafe.

People should also continue to regularly wash their hands, maintain social distance and wear a face covering when advised to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

Visit www.westsussex/gov.uk/coronavirus for more information.