The total value of contracts awarded to North East firms as part of the construction of a new wind farm on Teesside has passed the £1m mark.In March this year, regional employer Banks Renewables, part of The Banks Group, started construction work on the Lambs Hill wind farm, which sits to the North West of Stockton, with Cheetham Hill Construction being appointed as main contractor.
Since then, more than 20 sub-contractors have been appointed to work on the creation of the four-turbine scheme, with over £310,000 of contracts being awarded to firms based in the local Tees Valley area.
Successful contractors include waste recycling firm Scott Brothers of Billingham, B&S Scaffolding of Middlesbrough, Stockton-based Hope Construction and various accommodation and catering suppliers across the area around the site.
Contracts worth a further £740,000 have been allocated to companies elsewhere in the North East, including Express Reinforcement and testing & inspection firm ESG, both of Newcastle, and rainwater harvesting equipment supplier Oaklands Environmental of Washington.
The Lambs Hill Wind Farm will have an installed capacity of up to 10MW, and is scheduled to begin producing clean, green energy before the end of the year.
A dozen-strong community liaison committee, including representatives from local parish councils, members of the community and representatives of Stockton Borough Council and the Banks Renewables project team, has been set up to help to keep local people informed about the progress of construction, with a sub-group also to be established to review and agree the local organisations and good causes that will receive funding from the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community benefits fund.
The fund, which will be worth £10,000 every year throughout the scheme’s 25-year lifespan, will become active once Lambs Hill begins to generate electricity for the National Grid.
Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, says: “Working wherever possible with businesses based in the communities around our projects is a key element of the way we work, and we’re lucky to have a range of high-quality North East suppliers to which we’ve been able to turn for this project.
“We design all our schemes to bring a range of tangibleeconomic, employment, social, supply chain and environmentalbenefits to the areas in which they’re based, and awarding these contracts is just one of the ways in which we fulfil this promise.
“Work on the Lambs Hill site is progressing well, and we’re looking forward to being able to generate clean, green energy from it by the end of the year.”
For further information on the Lambs Hill Wind Farm, contact the project team via lambshill@banksgroup.co.uk