CONSTRUCTION of a new base for the Rampion offshore wind farm has started in Newhaven.

The operations and maintenance base at Newhaven Port will be home to a team of 60 full-time staff who will control the wind farm when it is operational.

The new building has been designed by architects Corstorphine and Wright together with Hove-based engineering firm the Helmsley Orrell Partnership.

It will incorporate a marine and wind farm control room, offices and warehousing and is sited near the quayside for easy access to crew transfer vessels which will be operated daily to maintain the wind farm.

Chris Tomlinson, development and stakeholder manager for the Rampion offshore wind farm, said: “We’re delighted that Rampion’s investment in the facility is acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of Newhaven Port.

“This will help to trigger associated economic benefits to the town while supporting the development of the Newhaven Enterprise Zone.”

Preliminary work to drive concrete piles into the ground in preparation for laying the foundations took place in the spring and is now complete.

The majority of the construction work will now take place during the summer along with the installation of refuelling facilities and cranes which will be used by the wind farm maintenance vessels.

The operations and maintenance building is due to be finished by the end of the year with work likely to continue on the pontoons during 2018.

A workforce of up to 650 people is engaged in the offshore construction work which is being project managed from a temporary base in Newhaven Port.

The 400MW Rampion project is being built 13km off the Sussex coast by E.ON, the UK Green Investment Bank plc and Canadian energy infrastructure company Enbridge.

Turbine installation began in March and 33 of the 116 turbines have already been put in place.

When complete, Rampion will provide enough electricity to supply almost 347,000 homes a year, equivalent to around half the homes in Sussex.

The wind farm is situated off the coast between Worthing and Shoreham in the west and Newhaven and Seaford in the east.