Navitus Bay developers are proposing to compensate losses that local marine businesses might incur due to the construction of the offshore wind farm.
Campaigners fighting the project claim that this is a signal that the developers are acknowledging the project’s negative impacts on tourism, the BBC writes. Also, some of the opponents said that the financial compensation proposal was “an attempt to win favour with firms”, according to the Daily Echo.
However, the developers say that this is a standard practice and that the companies will get support for increased costs caused by the offshore wind farm’s construction.
“There may be increased costs associated with dive businesses having to move to different wrecks, say fuel for example. It’s only right that we compensate those for the increased costs,” the BBC quotes Navitus Bay’s Senior Project Manager Stuart Grant as saying.
The opponents are also questioning the developers’ decision to propose compensation only to marine companies, and not to other businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
“The potential for financial support applies solely to businesses whose offshore operations will be directly affected by particular construction operations, so it is not something that will be extended to other businesses that do not operate in those offshore areas,” the Daily Echo cites Mike Unsworth, Project Director of Navitus Bay .
Navitus Bay developers have already contacted firms that could be impacted by the offshore wind farm’s development, and they started the assessment to determine which companies will be affected the most.