Lawrence Weston to tackle fuel poverty with wind turbine

Ambition Lawrence Weston hopes the wind turbine will lower energy bills for residents

A community-owned wind turbine will be built on land near Bristol to provide renewable energy to thousands of homes.

Profits will fund a development plan for Lawrence Weston, including a £1.7m community hub providing training, social support and debt advice.

Community team Ambition Lawrence Weston hopes the 492ft (150m) wind turbine will be working by spring 2022.

Team member Mark Pepper said: "Our hope is that residents also benefit from lower energy costs."

The wind turbine will be built on Bristol City Council-owned land in Avonmouth and produce enough low-carbon electricity to power 3,500 homes, making CO2 savings of 1,965 tonnes a year, it is claimed.

There will also be an on-site Energy Learning Zone for schools and communities to learn about renewable energy.

The project has now had secretary of state approval after being granted planning permission by the council in July.

'Tallest wind turbine'

Mr Pepper, who is the development manager at Ambition Lawrence Weston, said the project is proof energy ownership is not just for big business.

He said: "We have 3,200 homes in Lawrence Weston, with some suffering from poor insulation and low-energy efficiency, which impacts on fuel poverty.

"We believe this is the tallest wind turbine to be given planning in England and as a deprived community, we are one of the first to endeavour with this type of project."

The team, operating under trading name Ambition Community Energy, still needs to secure the £4.8m investment to build the turbine.

The project has already received funding from Bristol council, the Bristol and Bath Regional Capital group and the West of England Combined Authority, which last week awarded £500,000.

Councillor Kye Dudd, said: "Community-owned energy assets like this must be at the heart of our efforts to address the climate emergency and create a cleaner, greener, healthier Bristol."