Sussex Community Foundation visits Rampion Wind Farm

We were delighted to be shown the wind farm by Kelvin Mcleod, Acting Stakeholder Manager at Rampion Offshore Wind.

Out at sea, we were met by an impressive sight: 116 towering turbines, which we were allowed to push right up to in the catamaran. Each consists of an 80-metre-tall tower, a nacelle containing the generation equipment, a hub, and three 55-metre-long blades. Seeing these giant turbines up close brought home the scale of the engineering and innovation driving clean energy on our doorstep.

But Rampion’s impact doesn’t stop at generating enough power to supply around half of the homes in Sussex. Through the Rampion Community Benefit Fund, managed by Sussex Community Foundation, over £2.1 million in grants has been awarded to local sustainable projects. These range from renewable energy installations to community gardens and environmental education initiatives - projects that benefit both people and the climate right across Sussex.

“The team really enjoyed getting to see the wind turbines up close and finding out more about their construction - especially knowing the Foundation’s connection with Rampion. They are a leading example of a company giving back to its local community. Rampion’s investment in grassroots projects is making a tangible difference to people’s lives while helping protect our environment for future generations.”

Kevin Richmond, CEO of Sussex Community Foundation

Our visit underlined how this partnership connects environmental progress with community empowerment. Rampion’s commitment ensures that the benefits of renewable energy are shared beyond the shoreline - building resilience, reducing carbon footprints, and supporting the people and places that make Sussex special.

As we headed back to shore, we felt proud to be part of a collaboration that’s shaping a greener, fairer future for our county - powered by the winds just off our coast!

Havens Community Hub

This week, Pete Jones, our Grants Manager, visited Haven’s Connections Café at The Hillcrest Community Centre in Newhaven with Kelvin Macleod, Stakeholder Manager at Rampion Offshore Wind. Haven’s Community Hub received a grant from the Rampion Community Benefit Fund last year.

Pictured above are Richard Young (volunteer), Paula Woolven BEM, Dawn Norman, Kelvin Macleod (RWE) & Francesca Lowton.

Havens Connections Café was launched in September 2024, after Havens Community Hub worked in partnership with the Hillcrest Community Centre to re-open the space known locally as the ‘Heart of the Community’. They quickly recruited and trained a dozen local volunteers who help prepare food donated by Havens Food Cooperative, a partner project that rescues and redistributes up to three tonnes of food from supermarkets weekly to hundreds of residents and groups.

Support from FareShare Sussex & Surrey also means the prices are low and affordable and the unique to the area ‘pay-it-forward’ scheme enables people to eat for a donation or free if required. Children can eat for £1 all year round, and the café has already hosted breakfast clubs for local nurseries and primary schools. It was also a registered 'warm space' in autumn and winter.

With two secure Wi-Fi-enabled computers in the café, people can get online while enjoying their refreshments. Many local groups use the space for informal meet-ups, including a new British Sign Language coffee morning starting in May.

The café hosts between 40 and100 visitors per day, depending on the activities taking place. It also has a zero-waste policy, with all peelings and leftovers being turned into compost in the outdoor ‘hot bins’. This is then donated to local gardeners who give their surplus produce to the centre!

Learn more about Havens Community Hub.