MONTHS of preparation will come to fruition this summer when one of the largest engineering feats East Lancashire has ever seen will get under way.

Contractors working on behalf of Scottish Power have been laying the groundwork for the ‘repowering’ of Coal Clough Wind Farm, near Burnley.

And there have been a few teething troubles as civil engineers fine-tuned their plans for bringing eight enormous 110-metre high turbines through Cliviger to the site.

An early attempt to take an extra long vehicle along the delivery route resulted in a lorry becoming stuck on a narrow bend and villagers have expressed concerns about the impact of trucks on the foundations of their homes.

But supporters of the huge undertaking, which will see the major pieces of kit delivered in late July, believe they are equal to the task.

Former mayor and Cliviger councillor David Heginbotham said there would always be issues with such schemes.

He has been impressed when two recent headaches, early morning road surfacing and a 3.30am crisis when a lorry failed to negotiate Wicked Hill in Mereclough, were quickly sorted out by main contractors Farrans.

Coun Heginbotham said: “I have every confidence with this company that such problems can be resolved. I have always said that if you allow yourself to stand still then you are effectively going backwards and this will bring benefits to Cliviger.”

The parish will receive £35,000 a year for the next 25 years, under the wind farm planning permission, and a trust is being established to devise how best to distribute the windfall.

A ScottishPower Renewables spokesman said: “Work on the Coal Clough repowering is progressing well.

“In the last few months we have been laying the tracks and undertaking the civil engineering work required.

“By the end of May we will start removing the existing turbines, and we remain on schedule to start the delivery of new turbines in late July.

“We are committed to continuing to work responsibly in the local community, and both our project team and our contractors can respond quickly if any issues are raised.”