Public Notice: Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm Project

REGULATION 9 OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (APPLICATIONS: PRESCRIBED FORMS AND PROCEDURE) REGULATIONS 2009

REGULATION 16 OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS 2017

Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has accepted an application (“the Application”) by Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm Limited (“the Applicant”) (registered office at Windmill
Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon, SN5 6PB) for a Development Consent Order under the Planning Act 2008 (“the Act”). The Application (reference number: EN010115) was submitted by the Applicant to the Secretary of State c/o the Planning Inspectorate on 25 March 2024.

Summary of the Project

The Application is for development consent to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission an offshore wind farm known as the Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm (“the Project”), and the associated development to connect the offshore wind farm to the national grid. The Project is a proposed extension to the operational Galloper Offshore Wind Farm situated off the coast of Suffolk.

The Project includes provision for the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of an offshore wind farm located approximately 37 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk at its closest point in the southern North Sea; including up to 79 wind turbine generators and associated infrastructure making landfall at Sandy Point between Frinton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea in Essex, the installation of underground cables, and the construction of an electrical substation and associated infrastructure to the west of Little Bromley to connect the development to National Grid’s proposed East Anglia Connection Node substation. The Project includes provisions for the installation of additional underground ducts to be utilised by a separate project with a similar proposed landfall and connection point. The Project also includes provision for the construction, operation, maintenance, and removal of habitat improvements measures for lesser black-backed gulls at a site on Orford Ness in East Suffolk.

Maps showing the onshore and offshore locations of the wind farm and associated infrastructure form part of the Application (document references 2.1 for the onshore location plan and 2.2 for the offshore location plan), which can be viewed on the Planning Inspectorates website under the documents tab:

https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010115

As the proposed wind farm will have a generating capacity in excess of 100MW, it is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) pursuant to sections 14(1)(a) and 15(3) of the Act. Development consent is therefore required for the Project.

The Development Consent Order would, if granted, authorise the compulsory acquisition of land, interests in land and rights over land, and the powers to use land permanently and temporarily. The Development Consent Order would also authorise alterations to the public highway network, the construction of temporary construction and permanent access routes, the temporary stopping up and / or management of the public highway, public rights of way and street works, and the application and / or disapplication of legislation.

The full suite of Application documents can be made available in printed format on request at a cost of up to £10,000. Requests for alternative formats (braille, other languages, etc) will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For all document requests, please contact the Applicant using the details at the end of this notice.

Representations

Any person may register as an interested party by submitting a Relevant Representation on the Application during the representation period (30 April to 21 June 2024). Representations giving notice of any interest in or objection to the Application must be made directly to the Planning Inspectorate, and be made on the Planning Inspectorate’s Registration and Relevant Representation Form.

The Registration and Relevant Representation Form is available to be completed via the Planning Inspectorate’s website for the Project using the web address below.

https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010115

Alternatively, if you would like to request a paper copy of the Registration and Relevant Representation Form, please telephone the Planning Inspectorate on 0303 444 5000.

Completed paper forms should be sent to The Planning Inspectorate, National Infrastructure Directorate, Temple Quay House, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN. The Planning Inspectorate reference for the Application (EN010115) should be quoted in any correspondence.

The Planning Inspectorate’s Advice Notice 8.2: How to register to participate in an Examination (December 2016), provides further guidance on how to register and make a relevant representation and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national- infrastructure-planning-advice-notes

Relevant Representations must be received by the Planning Inspectorate by 11:59pm on Friday 21 June 2024. Please allow enough time for delivery if submitting a representation by post.

In submitting a representation, it should be noted that the personal data and correspondence relating to any representation will be made publicly available. If you do not wish personal data to be made publicly available, you should state why when submitting the representation. The Planning Inspectorate will publish the representations with your name removed, however, the representations may give them less weight during the Examination as a result. Please note that all representations submitted will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website and will be subject to their privacy policy, found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/planning-inspectorate-privacy-notices/ customer-privacy-notice

To find out more about the Project, you can visit the Applicant’s website at www.fiveestuaries.co.uk. You can contact the Applicant directly with questions about the Project using the contact information below:

Email: fiveestuaries@rwe.com

Telephone: 0333 880 5306

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