Procurement Other

Morecambe Offshore Windfarm has appointed GrantScape, an experienced national grant-making charity, to lead the full Community Benefit Fund (CBF) consultation process associated with the 480 MW offshore wind project in the Eastern Irish Sea. The appointment is announced alongside the launch of the CBF consultation, which is open until October 2026, with an initial online survey running until 22 May 2026. By bringing in a specialist organisation focused on grant-making and community funding, the project company is formalising arrangements for how local benefits from the wind farm will be developed and consulted upon. Under this appointment, GrantScape is responsible for gathering views from local residents, community organisations and key stakeholders across the region. The feedback collected will be used to inform how the Community Benefit Fund is structured, what areas it should prioritise, and how it will be delivered in practice. This consultation is framed as the first step in creating a long-term investment programme to ensure nearby communities benefit directly from the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm. The procurement of GrantScape therefore represents a key enabling milestone in the project’s community and social value workstream, helping translate the project’s high-level commitments on local benefits into a concrete funding mechanism shaped by stakeholder input. The appointment also signals that the project is moving into a more detailed implementation phase on community benefits, running in parallel with its wider development and consenting progress. The outcomes of GrantScape’s consultation will shape the eventual design and roll-out of the Community Benefit Fund during the project’s construction and operational phases.