Frodsham Wind Farm

Frodsham Wind Farm was consented in October 2012 and commissioned in February 2017. It is built primarily on the land owned and operated by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, which is a part of the Peel Ports division of The Peel Group. At 50MW, Frodsham Wind Farm is one of the biggest wind farms in England and is the biggest wind farm in Cheshire.

Belltown is proud of the contribution the Frodsham Wind Farm makes to the local area through its commitments to the local community across community funding and the local environment.

Frodsham Wind Farm contributes £120,000 in community benefits every year

Project specifics

Location	Cheshire, UK
Energised	February, 2017
Capacity	50MW
Turbine no.	19 x Nordex N90/2650 turbines
Tip height	125m
Hub height	80m
Homes powered p.a.	32,848
CO2 save p.a.	52,418 tonnes

Community Commitments

As part of its commitment to the community, Frodsham Wind Farm pays £120,000 annually into the Marshes Community Benefit Fund (MCBF), which amounts to ca. £3 million over the expected life of the project. The fund is for the benefit of the community in the local area of the wind farm and located on the marshes close to the villages of Frodsham, Helsby and Elton. MCBF is managed by a panel of 10 people drawn from the local community.

Since its inception, the MCBF has funded many fantastic causes, such as:

A new play facility to replace a condemned playground at Alvanley and Manley Village School;
Renovation funds for pathways at the Hob Hey Wood, an area of ancient woodland near Frodsham. The various pathways which are a mix of boardwalk, gravel, and bare earth, provide a guide for visitors to the wood; and
Funding for the Helsby Community Sports Club, an amateur sports and social club in Helsby, to replace their existing flood lights with LEDs and upgraded other functionality to reduce running costs and wastage.

A comprehensive and robust habitat management and enhancement plan (HMEP) has been implemented for the project.

Environmental commitments

Habitats found on the site include reed beds, areas of open water, agricultural land, and areas of scrub. The site is made up of a number of cells, which are separated by earth banks. Common bird species at the site include Marsh Harriers and Black-tailed godwits.

The HMEP was prepared in consultation with Natural England (NE), the RSPB, Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC), the Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT) and the Cheshire and Wirral Ornithological Society (CAWOS). The overarching purpose was to ensure the existing habitats and populations, such as a breeding marsh harrier, were catered for and protected during construction, which required the implementation of exclusion zones and speed limits.

Marsh Harrier – photo by Paul Kelly on Unsplash

Other key mitigation and enhancement objectives include:

The provision of a relatively undisturbed, high quality roosting, loafing and feeding area for wintering waterfowl with an open aspect, specifically targeted at species for which the Mersey Estuary SPA and Ramsar site was designated;
To maintain the fields, for the duration of the lifetime of the wind farm, in a condition that is favourable for wintering wader species, including golden plover, lapwing and curlew;
To maintain areas of existing reedbed, which is breeding habitat for some breeding birds; and
The cessation of shooting rights over the land.

The areas are regularly monitored. Further, a Habitat Creation and Management Group has been set up to advise on the detail of the HMEP, reviewing the findings of the post-construction ornithological monitoring programme to allow refinement of the HMEP where necessary.

The project was awarded a CEEQUAL Excellent Whole Team Award. CEEQUAL is the sustainability assessment, rating, and awards scheme for civil engineering and the takes into account ‘ecology and biodiversity’, ‘people and community’, ‘land use and landscape’, and ‘energy and carbon’.