Seabank Community Wind Turbine

Project Data

Location

Lawrence Weston, UK

Client Type

Consultancy

When Ambition Lawrence Weston, a community-led charity, launched plans to install a community wind turbine near the Severn Estuary, The Landmark Practice was appointed to provide expert environmental planning services. Given the highly sensitive coastal location, Field & Canopy (formerly GECM) was brought on board to deliver specialist ornithological support, including detailed surveys, Collision Risk Modelling and an Environmental Statement chapter.

The resulting Seabank Turbine successfully secured planning consent and became the largest onshore wind turbine in the UK. Since its completion, the project has won numerous accolades, with one judge praising it as "a shining example of community leadership, delivering lasting benefits and empowering local people through renewable energy."

Methods

Step 01

Scoping

Developing a definitive scope, in consultation with other stakeholders, to define the level of required survey data needed to inform a robust assessment.

STEP 02

Data Gathering

Estuarine bird counts, flight collision surveys, and breeding bird surveys were all utilised to provide a high level of baseline data on which to base an Impact Assessment.

STEP 03

Analysis

F&C undertook the detailed Collision Risk Modelling and, with The Landmark Practice, prepared the Ornithology chapter of the Environmental Statement, assessing impacts on avian receptors as well as the wider Estuary/SPA.

Outcomes

The wind turbine was granted planning consent in August 2020.

Standing at 150m in height, it generates enough electricity to power 3,000 homes, saving over 1,600 tonnes of CO2 per year. It won the 'Clean Energy Project Award' at The Green Energy Awards in 2025 and remains a landmark in the renewable energy sector - demonstrating how community driven green energy projects can change local lives.