Nine local organisations around Liverpool Bay are celebrating the news that they have been awarded grants as part of Ørsted’s Burbo Bank Extension Community Fund.
The deserving recipients will each receive a share of the massive £116,500 windfall available under the sixth round of grants awarded by the Fund.
Each year for the expected 25 year lifetime of the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm, approximately £225,000 will be made available for community projects, which will benefit the local area.
The nine new projects join 73 other groups who have already benefited from grant support through the Fund, taking the total awarded to £675,000 since it launched in May 2015.
The full list of organisations awarded grants under this round of the Community Benefit Fund are as follows:
- The Osborne Trust – £13,432
- Historic Chapels Trust, Wallasey Unitarian – £5,000
- St Leonard’s Youth & Community Centre – £18,615
- Home-Start Southport & Formby – £5,000
- Wirral Environmental Network – £4,700
- River & Sea Sense – £12,500
- The Docklands Trail – £18,338
- Energy Projects Plus, Seacombe – £24,415
- Veterans in Sefton – £14,500
On hearing the good news the Trustees of The Docklands Trail charity said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the sum of £18,338 from the Burbo Bank Extension Community Fund.
“This funding will now allow us to commence the first phase of our heritage project, designed to benefit the education of local schoolchildren, local economy and communities and at the same time provide a unique tourist attraction within the north Liverpool docks.”
Natasha Nanuck, Ørsted’s Stakeholder Advisor, said:
“Merseyside has played a big part in advancing technology for the whole offshore wind industry. Our two projects here, Burbo Bank, and the newer Extension, both were the first in the world to demonstrate new turbine models, that have then gone on to be used by the rest of the industry.
“We want to give something back to the communities in which we operate, which is why we set up these benefit funds. Each receiving organisation has shown how they can make a positive impact in their community, and we are delighted to be able to support these worthy causes.”
The Fund is being managed by national grant-making charity GrantScape and more details can be found at GrantScape’s website www.grantscape.org.uk or by calling 01908 247634. The closing date for the next round of applications is 26 September 2018.
The Ørsted Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm was officially opened in May 2017 and is capable of meeting the electricity demand of well over 230,000 homes.