Strengthening North Norfolk’s flood readiness
The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm, operated by Equinor, makes a donation of £150,000 per annum to the Sheringham Shoal Community Fund, a recent grant from which has enabled the Mundesley Independent Lifeboat to strengthen its flood rescue readiness as a result of specialist training undertaken by eight crew members.
Mundesley Independent Lifeboat crew undertaking flood and swift water rescue training
(image courtesy of Mundesley Independent Lifeboat)
The crew members attended the Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT) course run by R3 Safety and Rescue in Llangollen, Wales. This DEFRA Level 3 course is recognised as the gold standard for flood and swift water rescue training.
Reporting the successful completion of this training, Lifeboat Coxswain Dave Francis said:
“ This training is essential to enable our crew members to operate safely and effectively in flood conditions. The support of the Sheringham Shoal Community Fund has made a real difference, helping us to maintain the high standards our North Norfolk community relies on. We’re proud to be part of the local emergency response and committed to protecting lives and property along this vulnerable stretch of coastline”.
The Mundesley Independent Lifeboat is a fully independent charity, and as a result of repeated flooding in nearly villages, including Bacton and Walcott, the crew and Trustees were able to establish a formal DEFRA-approved flood rescue team.
As a declared asset of North Norfolk District Council under the North Norfolk Operational Flood Plan, the lifeboat service aims to have two fully qualified teams available at all times to work in partnership with the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, HM Coastguard and the Police Service. The local emergency register lists it as being available to respond to incidents between Eccles and Wells-next-the-Sea, with a primary focus on the Bacton and Walcott areas.
The Sheringham Shoal Community Fund, which is administered by the Norfolk Community Foundation (www.norfolkfoundation.com) has awarded grants of over £1.36 million since its establishment in 2010.
About Equinor in Norfolk
Equinor is a long-term partner for Norfolk and has been an active member of the community for over a decade through the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms it operates off the Norfolk coast.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Masdar and China Resources Consortium, whilst Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, a subsidiary of Equitix Offshore 3 Limited (co-owned by funds managed by Equitix and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG)) and Macquarie Asset Management (via Macquarie GIG Renewable Energy Fund 1).
On behalf of its partners, Equinor is maturing the proposed Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extension projects. Following unitisation of the two, the Extensions project will double the capacity of the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes and making an important contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Currently, the combined output of Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms is sufficient to power around 710,000 UK homes, and the proposed extensions will increase that to nearly 1.5 million UK households.
Both wind farms have established community funds which in total have awarded over £1.65 million to projects in Norfolk. The funds were set up to provide grants to Norfolk community groups, including schools and charities, seeking financial assistance for projects or initiatives that meet key criteria and focus on renewable energy, marine environment and safety, sustainability, or education in these areas. During 2020, the funds provided grant funding to the Norfolk Community Foundation’s COVID-19 funding initiatives, and during 2021 grant funding has been made available to support Norfolk’s ‘every child on-line’ initiative.
Issue date: 27-11-25
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alice Baxter
UK Media Relations Manager, Equinor
E-mail: abax@equinor.com
+44 7557973941
For consultation or community enquiries, please contact:
Nigel Tompkins, the Projects’ Community Liaison Officer based in Norfolk,
E-mail: nigel@ni4b.co.uk