The Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm Order 2021
| Year | 2021 |
2021 No. 1414
Infrastructure Planning
The Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm Order 2021
Made 10th December 2021
Coming into force - - 1st January 2022
An application has been made to the Secretary of State under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act”)1and in accordance with the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 20092for an order granting development consent.
The application was examined by the Examining Authority appointed by the Secretary of State pursuant to sections 613and 654of Part 6 of the 2008 Act and carried out in accordance with Chapter 4 of that Act and with the Infrastructure Planning (Examination Procedure) Rules 20105. The Examining Authority has submitted a report to the Secretary of State under section 74(2)6of the 2008 Act.
The Secretary of State has considered the report and recommendation of the Examining Authority, has taken into account the environmental information in accordance with regulation 4 of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 20177and, as a national policy statement has effect in relation to the proposed development, has had regard to the documents and matters referred to in section 104(2)8of the 2008 Act.
The Secretary of State, having decided the application, has determined to make an Order granting development consent for the development described in the application on terms that in the opinion of the Secretary of State are not materially different from those proposed in the application.
The Secretary of State is satisfied that open space comprised within the Order land, when burdened with the new rights authorised for compulsory acquisition under the terms of this Order, will be no less advantageous than it was before such acquisition, to the persons in whom it is vested, other persons, if any, entitled to rights of common or other rights, and the public and that, accordingly, section 132(3)9of the 2008 Act applies.
The Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 114, 115, 12010, 140 and 149A of the 2008 Act makes the following Order—
PART 1
Preliminary
Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm Order 2021 and comes into force on 1st January 2022.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order —
“the 1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 196111;
“the 1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 196512;
“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 198013;
“the 1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 198114;
“the 1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 198915;
“the 1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 199016;
“the 1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 199117;
“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 200318;
“the 2004 Act” means the Energy Act 200419;
“the 2008 Act” means the Planning Act 200820;
“the 2009 Act” means the Marine and Coastal Access Act 200921;
“the 2016 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 201622;
“access to works plan” means the plan certified as the access to works plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“ancillary works” means the ancillary works described in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (ancillary works) and any other works authorised by this Order and which are not development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“authorised development” means the development and associated development described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (authorised development), which is development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“authorised project” means the authorised development and the ancillary works authorised by this Order;
“book of reference” means the book of reference certified by the Secretary of State under article 37 as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order;
“building” includes any structure or erection or any part of a building, structure or erection;
“business day” means a day other than Saturday or Sunday which is not Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 197123;
“cable” means any onshore or offshore cable and in respect of any onshore cable includes direct lay cables and/or cables pulled through cable ducts;
“cable ducts” means conduits for the installation of cables and/or fibre optic cables;
“carriageway” has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act;
“commence” means, (a) in relation to works seaward of MHWS, the first carrying out of any licensed marine activities authorised by the deemed marine licences, save for pre-construction surveys and monitoring approved under the deemed marine licences or, (b) in respect of any other works comprised in the authorised project, the first carrying out of any material operation (as defined in section 155 of the 2008 Act) forming part of the authorised project other than operations consisting of site clearance, demolition work, archaeological investigations, environmental surveys, investigations for the purpose of assessing ground conditions, remedial work in respect of any contamination or other adverse ground conditions, diversion and laying of services, erection of any temporary means of enclosure, temporary hard standing, the temporary display of site notices or advertisements and the words “commencement” and “commenced” must be construed accordingly;
“converter building” means the building housing the principal electrical equipment comprised in Work No. 8A;
“deemed marine licences” means the marine licences set out in Schedules 9, 10, 11,12 and 13;
“Defence Infrastructure Organisation Safeguarding” means Ministry of Defence Safeguarding, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Kingston Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B75 7RL and any successor body to its functions;
“design and access statement” means the document certified as the design and access statement by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“development principles” means the document certified as the ‘development principles: layout design rules’ by the Secretary of State for the purposes of the Order under article 37;
“draft marine mammal mitigation protocol” means the document certified as the draft marine mammal mitigation protocol by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“draught height” means the distance between the lowest point of the rotating blade of a wind turbine generator and MHWS;
“environmental statement” means the document certified as the environmental statement by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“gravity base” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete which rests on the seabed either due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated materials and equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, transition piece, corrosion protection systems, fenders and maintenance equipment, boat access systems, access ladders and access and rest platform(s) and equipment;
“HAT” means highest astronomical tide;
“highway” has the same meaning as in section 328(1) of the 1980 Act;
“highway authority” means Highways England or Norfolk County Council (as appropriate);
“horizontal directional drilling” means a trenchless technique for installing an underground duct between two points without the need to excavate vertical shafts;
“Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm Development Consent Order” means the development consent order made by the Secretary of State in relation to the Hornsea Three offshore wind farm on 31st December 202024;
“important hedgerows plan” means the document certified as the important hedgerows plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“in principle Norfolk Boreas Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation site integrity plan” means the document certified as the in principle Norfolk Boreas Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation Site Integrity plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“interface cables” means buried onshore cables and fibre optic cables which connect the onshore project substation to the National Grid substation;
“jacket foundation” means a steel jacket/lattice-type structure constructed of steel which is fixed to the seabed at three or more points with steel pin piles or steel suction caissons and associated materials and equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, transition piece, corrosion protection systems, fenders and maintenance equipment, boat access systems, access ladders and access and rest platform(s) and equipment;
“jointing pit” means an excavation formed to enable the jointing of high voltage power cables and fibre optic cables;
“jointing works” means a process by which two or more cables or fibre optic cables are connected to each other by means of cable joints within a jointing pit;
“landfall” means the location at which the offshore cables and fibre optic cables come ashore;
“land plans” means the plan or plans certified as the land plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 37;
“LIDAR” means light detection and ranging;
“limits of deviation” means the limits of deviation referred to in article 4 (limits of deviation) for the overhead line modification works comprised in Work No. 11B;
“main river” has the same meaning as is in the Water Resources Act 199125;
“maintain” includes inspect, upkeep, repair, adjust, and alter, and further includes remove, reconstruct and replace (but only in relation to any of the ancillary works in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (ancillary works), any cable, any component part of any wind turbine generator, offshore electrical substation, offshore service platform, meteorological mast, and the onshore transmission...
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