UK: Offshore Wind Farm Proposal Raises Concerns

Many eyebrows have been raised by the Celtic Array’s Rhiannon offshore wind farm, including that of Mark Menzies, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Fylde, who raised concern about the impact of the proposed offshore wind development in the Irish Sea on the fishing industry in Fleetwood.

Nevertheless, as the process pushes forward the biggest worries seem to be caused by the development plans for the North East area, going directly across the Liverpool and Heysham ferry routes.

After Morecambe MP David Morris put up an early day motion to protect ferry routes between the UK, Ireland and the Isle of Man, Eric Ollerenshaw, port representative in the Parliament said to the Gazette: “I want to take into account what remains of our fishing fleets.

“There are serious worries in terms of what happens to their boats in a storm or at night around there, and there needs to be a serious look at it.

“I don’t sign Early Day Motions but I support the whole principle of this because it’s not just ferries but also fisherman out there.”

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, January 21, 2013; Image: celticarray