BENEFITING THE COMMUNITY

Local economic benefits will come from construction activities such as plant and equipment hire, concrete and hardcore, civil and electrical contracts, site investigations and local accommodation and restaurants.  It is RES' policy to use local contractors wherever possible.  The wind farm would also provide a substantial contribution to local services through business rates.

When constructing Altaveedan Wind Farm in County Antrim, by using a local County Antrim contractor to undertake access works and provide aggregate over £500,000 has remained in the very local area and benefitted a local firm.  A local fuel supplier located three miles away from the site also benefited from a diesel contract worth approximately £6,000.  In addition, the use of a Northern Ireland based civil contractor for the main site works has seen in the region of £2.5 million injected into the Northern Ireland economy.

St Patrick’s Primary School Glen received a donation from RES towards the purchase of plants, fencing and some seating for the pupils to enjoy their surroundings. The school are also planning to use the funding to purchase a ‘Mini-beast Hotel’ which aims to attract all manner of creepy crawlies including; spiders, snails, woodlice, worms, millipedes, centipedes, mites and earthworms. The garden will be used by teachers as an area for outdoor learning activities and by pupils during breaks from the classroom.

Mrs Edel McGuckin, P7 teacher at St Patrick’s Primary School Glen said; “We are creating an eco-sensory garden at the school. This will benefit all children and help us learn about the environment, how to protect it and care for it. This garden will also be a place to relax and enjoy and we are also looking forward to learning about mini-beasts. We would like to thank RES for their generous donation of £500.”

Fiona Stevens, Senior Development Project Manager said; “We’re delighted to support St Patrick’s Primary School Glen with the creation of their new eco-garden. I’m sure once the garden is complete it will be enjoyed by teachers, pupils and creepy crawlies alike for years to come.”