Lancashire-based A1 Traffic Safety Services has completed the installation of traffic management infrastructure on the stretch of the A693 that adjoins the site, with main contractor Cheetham Hill Construction now set to start preparatory construction work on Monday 4 August.
The three turbines, which will be supplied by industry-leading manufacturer Nordex delivered via the Port of Heysham, are expected to be in place early in the new year, with connection to the local grid scheduled to follow shortly afterwards.
Between ten and fifty people will be employed on the Heysham South site at any one time during the site preparation and construction phases of the project.
A related community benefits fund worth at least £250,000 across the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm will enable Banks Renewables to deliver a range of community and environmental improvements in partnership with local people, to help ensure tangible, long-term benefits result from the company’s presence in the area.
Phil Dyke, development director at Banks Renewables, says: "Our Heysham South Wind Farm proposals have had substantial local support as they’ve progressed through the development process, and it’s exciting to be reaching this important milestone in their realisation.
"Onshore wind is acknowledged as the cheapest form of renewable energy production, enjoys wide ranging support among the UK population, is reducing the amount of carbon dioxide we emit as a country, and is helping to increase the amount of indigenous energy we can produce by renewable means.
"Our aim is to move the construction process forward as swiftly as we can, with a view to having the turbines in place early in the new year, and we will continue to liaise closely with local residents and communities to keep them up to date with the progress being made on site.
"Carefully designed and sensibly-sited onshore wind farms such as Heysham South will be central to producing the energy that we all use over the coming decades, and alongside the clean energy they produce, they also bring direct employment, economic and community funding benefits to the areas in which they’re located."
