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Hundreds of potential jobs to be created in Whitby if off-shore wind farms get backing

Hundreds of jobs could be created in Whitby if proposals for an offshore wind farm are backed, accoring to councillors.

The plans aim to use Endeavour Wharf as a base to ferry staff and goods to off-shore wind farms, proposals for which are being put together by Dalby Offshore Services

Dalby was chosen by Scarborough Borough Council and the Whitby Harbour Board to move the proposals forward.

Council bosses say that there is a need to look towards both the tourism sector and a boom in wind farms to bolster the local economy, whilst continuing to preserve the local fishing industry.

Whitby and other ports have been identified as key locations to benefit from the UK’s growing offshore wind sector, with thousands of turbines proposed in a series of wind farms miles off the region’s coastline over the coming years.

Coun Derek Bastiman, the council’s member for regeneration and strategic planning said the Whitby plans, still at the development stage, “could prove a massive boost for our economy, potentially bringing hundreds of new jobs and an entirely new industry sector to our borough”.

However, campaigners opposed to the proposed offshore wind farms have questioned whether historic Whitby is the right location.

Campaigner David Hinde, earlier said: “The wind industry must not be allowed to alter Whitby’s historic harbour and to spoil its leisure and tourism industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .