CoRE Network

Berwick Community Wind Turbine    Low Carbon Communities Challenge Project	Berwick CoRE's main project is the Berwick Community Wind Turbine (see below). It was also a winner in DECC's Low Carbon Community Challenge and is undertaking various projects as a result of this success. Berwick CoRE is a company formed by Community Renewable Energy and Berwick Community Trust. It is a Private Company Limited by Shares and is registered in England and Wales with the Company Number 06752679
	Berwick Community Wind Turbine Project Scroll down the page for a project overview. Go to CoRE Downloads for supporting leaflets and photomontages.
	19 September 2011 A bit of fun -  Berwick Community Wind Turbine Post-It Picture 8 September 2010 Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) has been granted full planning permission for the Berwick Community Wind Turbine at The Steps of Grace just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Northumberland County Council’s Planning Committee heard the application for planning permission on Tuesday 7 September 2010. The result, by a unanimous decision from Councillors, was a grant of full planning. See News for press release.
	10 May 2010 A full planning application for the Steps of Grace Community Owned Wind Turbine was submitted in December 2009 with Northumberland County Council. This was verified on 26 April 2010. The application and supporting documents are available to view at the National Planning Portal. The reference number for the planning application is 10/00084/REN.
	Photomontages
	Photomontage of proposed wind turbine from Newfields - for indicative purposes only View more photomontages
	Met mast on site at The Steps of Grace, Berwick-upon-Tweed
	Berwick Wind Turbine - Community Consultation   Berwick CoRE held a Public Consultation about it's proposal to erect a single community owned Wind Turbine north of the Ramparts Business Park in The Maltings Theatre in Berwick-upon-Tweed on 1 July 2009, we were also at the Borders Green Festival held in Berwick, during the same week. This consultation follows on from various press releases in the local and national press since 2007, which has kept the community informed about the project. Leaflets were also distributed to local residents living in the northern part of Berwick (nearest to the turbine site) and posters and leaflets were placed at venues throughout the town, leading up to the consultation. At the consultation, photomontages of the proposed turbine were available to view and representatives were on hand to discuss the project in more detail. Comments received at both events were overwhelmingly positive. The project is now undertaking various studies at the site to ascertain the impact the wind turbine will have on its location. When these are complete, the project will be progressed to submit a full planning application later in the year.   Comments from the Consultation included: "I believe that this is an excellent project and would like to see it repeated throughout Northumberland. We need to address the issue of climate change urgently." "A necessary (small) first step to assisting with improving the future of the planet and reducing our dependance on oil." "Excellent initiative. What local communities should think about." "I would like to see this repeated throughout Northumberland." "Excellent example of promoting renewable energy for the profit of the community" Project Overview June 2009 Berwick CoRE Ltd is the joint venture between CoRE and Berwick Community Trust that has been formally established in order to progress the wind turbine project. This jointly owned enterprise provides the necessary legal structure for the required investment and will ultimately become the owner and operator of the turbine.   Work is currently underway in order to provide detailed information to support final decisions on the feasibility of the project and a subsequent planning application. Assuming final feasibility is proven a planning application is anticipated this summer and progress in generating the required information to support this is so far very positive. A range of impact studies, feasibility assessments and public consultations are required and central to this is the availability of good quality wind speed data.   The met mast erected in May 2008 (Grid Reference NT986555) has now generated a full year’s data on wind speed, direction and reliability at the site. Interim assessment shows the proposed site to benefit from good quality and consistent wind with relatively low levels of turbulence.   Specialist analysis and correlation to wind data readings taken at Boulmer has shown the interim data to indicate the site is highly suitable for a medium-scale turbine and sufficient to make the project economically viable. Assessment and correlation of the full year’s data will be completed soon and with inclusion of data on the stronger winter winds, is anticipated to reinforce earlier assessments and prove the project to be economically viable. Work is also progressing on developing a better understanding of the site and any possible environmental impact the project may have. Studies on the geology and hydrology of the site are now complete and a specialist study of the possible impact on resident and migrating wildlife is nearing completion. Final public consultation activities will be completed in early July and, assuming that the feasibility of the project is proven as anticipated, a planning application will follow quickly. Subject to planning approval, and the necessary outstanding funding being secured, a turbine will be on site and operational in early 2010. As the project progresses all involved remain optimistic of a very positive outcome. Berwick CoRE June 2009

A new renewable energy organisation that works with communities has announced plans to join forces with people in Berwick to generate £4 million for the Town.

Berwick Community Development Trust (BCDT) and the new organisation, Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) have established Berwick CoRE to put up the turbine and run it. They have applied for planning permission to erect a temporary wind monitoring mast as the first stage in erecting an 800 kWh turbine.

“We have been working on setting up a wind turbine for some time as a means of generating money for Berwick and tackling climate change,” said Philip Miller, Chair of Berwick Development Trust, “this will be our first practical step, so it is very exciting.”

Berwick CoRE is investigating a proposal to put a community owned wind turbine on a site just north of The Ramparts Business Park, Berwick. The temporary mast will record wind speed and direction. From this it will be possible to assess the economic viability of the proposal. The owners of the land, Berwick Freemen, have agreed to the mast being erected and to a wind turbine being set up, subject to financial viability and public consultation.

“We are aware that there are a number of proposals for some very large wind farms in North Northumberland,” added Philip Miller, “but this is very different – a substantial amount of the profits will be retained locally and it is only one relatively small wind turbine. This is why groups, like Moorsyde Action Group (MAG) support such plans.”

A MAG spokesman said “We have always supported community-based renewable energy projects, including small, embedded wind power; as long as they do not damage the environment, local communities and our tourist economy. MAG has repeatedly attempted to engage with the developers of large-scale wind power stations in our area to discuss these issues. Sadly, they are not interested.”

CoRE will use its share of the profits to support other community groups to establish their own renewable energy systems; from wood boilers to bio-diesel generators to mini-hydro or solar power.

CoRE is a social enterprise (a business that uses its profits for community benefit) that is funded by One North East as a ‘regionally based national pilot project’ and is itself based in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

“This will be our biggest single project,” said Ross Weddle, Manager of CoRE “we are keen to use what we learn in Berwick to work with other North East communities to set up similar projects.”

Berwick CoRE will be holding public meetings to discuss the proposal.  They are keen to hear from anyone about the idea, or from those interested in getting involved in this project, or who have ideas for other projects anywhere in the North East. For more information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to www.core.coop

Jan 2008