Stroud based green energy company, Ecotricity, is set to complete the construction of a new wind park at Alveston, near Thornbury by the end of the year.

The three windmill site, which is near the junction of the M4 and M5, comes 21 years after Ecotricity's windmill was built at Nympsfield, near Stroud.

Last year, Ecotricity received planning consent for a new grid connection at the site to ensure that the already consented wind park could go ahead. It then began some early construction work preparing the site and creating the onsite access tracks.

Work will begin in the Spring, when Ecotricity will begin construction of the crane-pads, dig the foundations for the windmills and continue work on the substation.

The windmills are expected to be delivered in October 2017, before they are erected and connected to the national grid by December.

Ecotricity will set up a community benefit fund for the wind park, which will be managed through its charity arm, the Green Britain Foundation. Through the fund, almost £7,000 will be made available every year for groups in local parishes, to be spent on projects which are aligned with the charity's criteria around sustainability in the sectors of energy, transport and food.