A leading civil engineering company has finished work on a heliport base linked to the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK designed and built the £4.2m heliport base in Barrow-in-Furness, which will enable helicopters to transport technicians to and from the Walney Extension offshore wind farm project.

Walney Extension became the world’s largest offshore wind farm when it officially opened earlier last year. The project, led by a global leader in offshore wind, Ørsted, is capable of providing clean electricity to almost 600,000 UK homes.

The two-phase project began in May 2018 with the construction of infrastructure services, structural foundations and hardstandings with the supply and installation of welfare facilities for the operation team, storage and fuelling system for aviation fuel and aviation lighting system.

The second stage, from January to August this year, involved the construction and installation of additional infrastructure services, extended car parking facilities and taxi ways and the building of the main hanger facility where the helicopter will be maintained and stored.

The helicopter will transport technicians to the turbines for routine maintenance as well as attending any breakdowns. It will provide a faster, more economical transport solution, helping to save money, time and fuel, as well as allowing the personnel to reach the site in poor weather conditions which would have previously been inaccessible by boat.

Jones Bros managed the groundworks to full completion – marking the latest scheme it has undertaken for Ørsted, as the civil engineering firm completed the construction of operations and maintenance facilities for the energy giant in October 2017.

Garod Evans, contracts director at Jones Bros, said: “Working collaboratively with Ørsted, we delivered this project from conceptual design stage through detailed design and onto construction. Our early involvement allowed us to work with Ørsted to design out risks and deliver the project within budget.

“The project presented some challenges with operational aircraft using the recently completed adjacent helipad during the construction of the hanger building.

“Our project team worked together with Ørsted to ensure flight operations continued safely and unaffected by construction works. The project was delivered with zero lost time accidents and on programme using a combination of our in-house resources and carefully selected specialist sub-contractors.”

Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros is now being run by the second and third generations of the founding family.

It works on projects including the construction of waste management facilities, highways, flood and marine defence, and renewable energy projects around the UK.