DENGIE MARSHES WIND FARM

Welcome

The team at Dengie Marshes Wind Farm have identified an opportunity for a new renewable energy project, known as Dengie Marshes Wind Farm. Our proposals include 15 turbines with a maximum height of 200m. These are in a linear arrangement near the east coast of the Dengie Peninsula, between the existing Turncole and Middlewick wind farms and the sea.

The wind farm could create enough clean energy to power 100,000 homes, equivalent to all the homes in Maldon District Council three times over. In addition to creating clean and affordable power, the wind farm will deliver local benefits through a community benefit fund of up to £600,000 per annum. We are also exploring the potential for discounted electricity for local people.

We have now submitted a full planning application for the Dengie Marshes Wind Farm to Maldon District Council. This follows two rounds of public consultation, three years of technical studies, and ongoing engagement with local residents, landowners, community groups, and statutory bodies.

The application sets out full details of the proposed development, including assessments of its potential effects on the environment, landscape, transport, and biodiversity, along with proposed mitigation and enhancement measures.

The application can be viewed via the Maldon District Council planning portal by searching the reference 25/01022/FULM, or by clicking the link below.

https://publicaccess.maldon.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage

We would like to thank everyone who shared their comments with us, which have helped to shape the proposals.

What’s changed since the summer?

Following our second round of consultation, we have:

  • Reduced the overall site footprint to 100 hectares (ha) to minimise land take and support continued agriculture.
  • Fixed turbine locations at least 1km from residential properties and at least 500m from designated sites.
  • Confirmed details of biodiversity enhancements, such as the creation of flower-rich field margins, native scrub planting, ditch enhancements, and wetland and grassland creation.
  • Sought to further minimise construction impacts by including a temporary concrete batching plant on site to reduce road movements.

What happens next?

Following our second round of consultation, we have:

  • Reduced the overall site footprint to 100 hectares (ha) to minimise land take and support continued agriculture.
  • Fixed turbine locations at least 1km from residential properties and at least 500m from designated sites.
  • Confirmed details of biodiversity enhancements, such as the creation of flower-rich field margins, native scrub planting, ditch enhancements, and wetland and grassland creation.
  • Sought to further minimise construction impacts by including a temporary concrete batching plant on site to reduce road movements.

ABout the team:

Dengie Marshes Wind Farm is a joint development between and local landowners D.J Fisher (Farms), J D Mee & Sons, Parker farms, and UK-based independent renewable energy company Naseby Energy. 

Naseby Energy is at the forefront of the UK’s drive for clean power and its management team have extensive experience in the development, construction, ownership and operation of wind farms.

Our proposals:

Landscape and visual

The Dengie Marshes Wind Farm has been carefully designed having regard to the existing landscape character which is already home to three significant clusters of wind turbines. Our visual impact assessment follows best practice and we’ve designed the project to reduce its effect on views from nearby towns, homes, and public paths. The turbines are arranged in a linear siting to avoid forming a large cluster and are placed on the more remote coastal side of the existing wind farms.

To look at who might see the project we have created a zone of theoretical visibility and photomontages to show what the project might look like, please view these on our interactive map below.

Ecology and our commitment to wildlife

We are committed to delivering the Dengie Marshes Wind Farm in a way that respects and enhances the local environment. As part of our work, we have carried out detailed ecological surveys since 2023 to understand the wildlife and habitats in and around the site.

The coastal margins of the Dengie Peninsula is a rich area for wildlife and the project is near several nationally and internationally important habitats, including:

  • Dengie Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar Site, and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
  • Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
  • Outer Thames Estuary SPA
  • Crouch and Roach Estuaries SPA and Ramsar Site
  • Foulness SPA and Ramsar Site
 

Our surveys have found:

  • Marsh harrier, dark-bellied brent geese and other protected species use the coastal salt marshes
  • Farmland birds like corn bunting and skylark are also present
  • Nine species of bats have been recorded
  • There have been signs of water vole and we’re reviewing otters and badger
 

The Dengie Marshes Wind Farm will support national efforts to deliver more clean, renewable energy while also delivering long-term benefits for biodiversity. We are working closely with local landowners, ecologists, and environmental organisations to ensure we protect and enhance the special natural environment of the Dengie area.  We are taking careful steps to minimise any impact on the local environment:

  • Construction will follow strict environmental best practice – a Construction Environmental Management Plan will guide all activities to protect habitats and species during building works.
  • Ongoing monitoring – we will continue to survey key species, such as birds and bats, throughout the life of the wind farm to make sure the project is not having a negative impact.
  • Enhancing habitats – we will create new habitats on and around the site. This includes planting new hedgerows and grassland margins, improving ditches, and exploring opportunities to deliver large areas of new wetland and grassland habitat offsite near the Crouch Estuary.

Construction

The existing windfarms, Turncole and Middlewick, were constructed using marine deliveries of some large components via facility on the north coast of the River Crouch. This facility has planning permission until 2042 and can be reused for our project. For the Dengie Marshes Wind Farm, we plan to bring the biggest parts of the wind turbines to Dengie by barge, not by road. This will helps reduce the need for slow moving abnormal loads and HGV traffic on local roads and protects the local area.

 

A Transport Assessment will evaluate construction traffic impacts, with mitigation measures outlined in a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP). To view the CTMP, please visit the planning portal here. We will work closely with stakeholders including Maldon District Council, Essex County Council, the River Crouch Harbour Authority, and local residents to ensure effective traffic management and minimise disruptions during construction.

Why here?

The Dengie Peninsula is an ideal location for onshore wind for several reasons including

  • Proven suitability for wind in a rural location, helping to create a diverse energy system and protecting bill payers from future price shocks
  • Proximity to the 132kV grid connection at the Rayleigh substation, where there is capacity for the electricity generated to be connected to the National Grid
  • Potential for construction access via a marine transfer facility, minimizing construction impacts community impacts
  • Opportunity to safeguard ecologically sensitive areas off the coast

Why Wind?

The delivery of large-scale renewable energy, like the plans for Dengie Wind Farm, is an urgent, national priority. This has been set out by the Government in national energy and planning legislation and policy; the new government has committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030.

The grid connection, and site search area, for Dengie Wind Farm gives us an exciting opportunity to bring forward a development in a suitable location, that would make a significant contribution to our energy security and transition towards Net Zero.

There is also support for renewable energy at the local level. Maldon District Council has published its aim to transition to a carbon neutral District and a net zero Council as quickly as practicably possible (but no later than 2050). The council’s draft Local Plan also includes supporting core aims, vision and objectives in relation to climate change mitigation and renewable energy development.

HOW DO WIND TURBINES
WORK?

Wind turbines consist of a set of blades forming a rotor, connected via a drive-shaft to a box containing the generator (called a nacelle). This assembly is mounted on a tower to provide ground clearance and access the stronger winds higher up. The wind – even just a gentle breeze – makes the rotor spin, creating kinetic energy. The rotation turns the shaft in the nacelle which spins a generator to convert this kinetic energy into electrical energy

INTERACTIVE MAP:

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project TIMELINE

  • January – February 2025

    Stage one public consultation on early options, developing site layout, ongoing environmental surveys

  • March – April 2025:

    Review of all feedback and constraints to design the site layout

  • June – July 2025

    Stage two consultation

    Submission of EIA Scoping Report

  • Summer 2025

    EIA Scoping Opinion

  • Winter 2025

    Submission of planning application to Maldon District Council

  • Summer 2026

    Expected planning determination

Community benefit fund

Throughout our consultations, we were pleased to receive suggestions on how the proposal could benefit the community, including through the community benefit fund. While these do not form part of the planning application, we will continue these conversations alongside the planning process.

The community benefit fund on Dengie Marshes Wind Farm will be approximately £600,000 per year. If you’d like to discuss how this fund could benefit local organisations or services, then please get in touch with our team on info@dengiemarsheswind.co.uk or 01621 483 896.