Local Benefits

At RWE npower renewables, we recognise that we have a responsibility towards the communities in which we operate, and seek to develop partnerships which help build trust with those communities.

If we are successful in gaining planning consent, we intend to offer a benefits package designed to specifically meet the needs of the local community. RWE npower renewables has a long track record in delivering benefits for the communities in which it operates (for more information, see Community Benefits, also on this website) and we are already exploring what the local priorities might be for residents and organisations in close proximity to Clocaenog Forest.

Community benefits are additional, voluntary benefits. They are not a material consideration of the planning application.
Welsh Assembly Planning Policy for Renewable Energy (TAN 8) clearly explains that “experience has shown that there are opportunities to achieve community benefits through major wind farm development.”

The policy also states that “It is perfectly acceptable for a business to enter into a legally binding agreement with third parties to deliver particular and agreed benefits to the community.”

At the public exhibitions in October 2009, we began our discussions with local communities, to begin understanding what the local priorities are, and will feed this into the separate community benefit process, which runs independently of the planning process.
For more information or to submit your ideas, please contact:

Katy Woodington
Community Investment Officer
E-Mail to Katy Woodington

Wales Case Study (1)
Carno Wind Farm, MidWales:

Carno First Responder volunteers (pictured) provide vital life saving treatment within the first minutes of an emergency before the emergency services arrive.

A £2,000 grant from the Carno Wind Farm Community Fund helped the group to purchase a life saving defibrillator and oxygen set, protective clothing for volunteers and training equipment.

Carno First Responders said: "The grant from the Wind Farm Community Fund has been invaluable in helping us purchase the equipment we need to carry out our work. It will be with us whenever needed and could help us to save lives in our community.”

Wales Case Study (2)
North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund

North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm 

In association with the North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm, a community fund has been set up to assist local community projects in the Rhyl, Prestatyn and Meliden areas. The annual fund started at a base level of £60,000, with the first payment made on completion of construction of the wind farm in 2003. Payments have risen in line with inflation each year, and in 2009 the annual payment was £68,642. In 2008, the local Community Partnerships which administer the fund on behalf of local people, made grants to 41 different local groups and organisations totaling £51,483. All unspent funds are held by the Denbighshire Coastal Partnership for allocation in future years.