UK: Wirral Council Plans to Establish Offshore Wind Business Park

March 11, 2013

Wirral Council is proposing to buy a site on Campbeltown Road in Birkenhead, which has been assigned for a project to meet the offshore wind supply chain demand, Liverpool Echo informs.

The four-acre site is situated next to the Cammell Laird site that currently has operations and maintenance sites at Liverpool Docks and Mostyn. The Council’s move to establish an offshore wind business park will create hundreds of new working positions.

Wirral Council’s ruling cabinet will review a report with recommendations on this subject this week.

The report says that there is a great opportunity for Wirral in the offshore wind supply chain and export, and recommends that the Council proceeds with negotiations to buy the Campbeltown Road site.

It also recommends that the Council negotiates with Cammell Laird to sell or lease a council-owned car park and slipway at Alabama Way to the company, which would allow the company to develop a facility for O&M in Wirral.

Last year, the Council’s Investment Strategy Team secured GBP 5 million of funding from the Regional Growth Fund for its offshore wind industry.

“Here 1,000 turbines are planned, the value of which is estimated to be in the region of £18bn and with an industry calculation of 4.5 jobs per installed turbine,” the report says.

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Offshore WIND Staff, March 11, 2013; Image: DONG Energy