Around £7.2 million will be ploughed into a rural community thanks to one of the biggest ever community support packages delivered as part of a Scottish wind farm scheme. 

Charities, youth groups, and voluntary organisations are among those who could benefit, thanks to the new arrangement which has been drafted by Banks’ Renewables development team. It follows consultation and discussions with local people around the proposed Ard Ghaoth Wind Farm, near Drymen in Stirlingshire.  (more…)

Businesses across Cumbria are being invited to register their interest in bidding for contracts worth in excess of £3.5m for a number of projects that will potentially be available later this year.

County Durham-based Banks Renewables is looking to invest £17m in the development of the six-turbine Weddicar Rigg wind farm, which would be situated on agricultural land around three kilometres to the east of Whitehaven and over one kilometre away from Moresby Parks. (more…)

Updated plans for a proposed wind farm to the south of Bolsover have been revealed by the developer behind the scheme.

Bolsover-based renewable energy firm Banks Renewables has amended plans for the Losk Lane wind farm, which would be situated on land to the north of Glapwell, approximately two miles to the east of the M1 motorway.

The original scheme design encompassed three turbines, but following feedback from Bolsover District Council’s planning officer on the planning application, Banks has decided to reduce the development to just two, with the turbine that was to be located to the south east of Palterton being removed from the plans. (more…)

New community resources, jobs and commercial opportunities for local firms are set to follow the start of preparatory development work on the site of a £16m wind farm in south Cumbria.

Banks Renewables, part of The Banks Group, began operations on the Armistead wind farm site, which is located on land near the village of Old Hutton, to the east of the M6 between junctions 36 and 37, earlier this month. 

As well as making a significant contribution towards meeting Cumbria County Council’s renewable energy targets, the Armistead scheme will bring a range of other benefits to the local community.  (more…)

Banks Renewables, part of the Banks Group, has successfully completed a £16m funding agreement with The Co-operative Bank to fund the construction of its first wind farm in Cumbria. 

Work on the Armistead Wind Farm is set to begin shortly after Durham-based Banks strengthened its ongoing relationship with The Co-operative Bank, which previously provided the financial backing for the firm’s Marr and Hazlehead wind farms in Yorkshire. (more…)

Attentive developers have reduced the number of turbines on a proposed wind farm site, following detailed public consultation.

Originally 20 turbines were earmarked for the Ard Ghaoth Wind Farm near Drymen in Stirlingshire, producing enough clean, green energy to power 11,100 homes.

Now the company behind the proposals, Hamilton-based Banks Renewables, has come back with a radical redrawing of the plans which halves the number of turbines to just 10. (more…)

A popular village hall will soon be set fair to withstand the worst weather that the west coast can throw at it, thanks to a five-figure grant from a renewable energy firm.

Overton and District Memorial Hall in Overton, near Heysham, has received an £11,000 grant from Banks Renewables, via its Banks Community Fund, which will pay for the replacement of the leaking flat roof on an extension to the hall that currently allows rainwater directly into the building. (more…)

A community rugby club in west Cumbria is planning for the future after securing a five-figure grant from a regional developer to improve its facilities.

Moresby Rugby Union Football Club near Whitehaven will use the £10,000 grant it has received from Banks Renewables, via its Banks Community Fund, to replace the remaining external wooden walls in its clubhouse with new concrete blocks and insulation, which will provide greater protection from the elements as well as making the inside of the building more comfortable. (more…)

Performers can now make use of a new stage in Darlington after an historic bandstand in one of the town’s parks was reopened for community use following a major restoration project.

The 113-year-old North Park bandstand was restored with the help of a £10,000 grant from local developer The Banks Group, via its Banks Community Fund, and was officially reopened last year. (more…)

Plans to develop a new wind farm on land to the west of Bradford have reached their latest milestone with the submission of a scoping report to Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

Banks Renewables, part of the Banks Group, is currently developing plans for the proposed Thornton Moor scheme, which would be situated on moorland to the south of the town of Denholme.

The scoping report contains a wide range of research and information about the Thornton Moor project, from the background to and details of the proposed scheme through to specific information on particular aspects of its development, such as ecological surveys, landscape assessments, traffic and access reports, habitat assessments and noise assessments, that will be carried out as part of a detailed environmental assessment. (more…)