The Hornsea Four Offshore Wind Farm Order 2023
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Year | 2023 |
| Citation | SI 2023/800 |
2023 No. 800
Infrastructure Planning
The Hornsea Four Offshore Wind Farm Order 2023
Made 12th July 2023
Coming into force 3rd August 2023
An application has been made to the Secretary of State under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act”)1, and in accordance with the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms an Procedures) Regulations 20092for an order granting development consent.
The application was examined by the Examining Authority, appointed by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 613and section 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 within the Order land, when burdened with any 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, 122, 123,140 and 149A of the 2008 Act, makes the following Order—
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Hornsea Four Offshore Wind Farm Order 2023 and comes into force on 3rd August 2023.
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 2000 Act” means the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 200018;
“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 200319;
“the 2004 Act” means the Energy Act 200420;
“the 2008 Act” means the Planning Act 200821;
“the 2009 Act” means the Marine and Coastal Access Act 200922;
“the 2016 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 201623:
“access land” has the same meaning as in section 1(1) (principal definitions for Part I) of the 2000 Act;
“access to works plan” means the plan or plans certified as the access to works plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“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) and any other development authorised by this Order that 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;
“the book of reference” means the document certified by the Secretary of State as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“box-type gravity base structures” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a square base which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“bridge link” means a steel truss structure with provision for overhead clearance for personnel, lighting fixtures and ancillary cabling, which can be used as a link for interconnection between any combination of permanent offshore electrical installations and/or offshore accommodation platform;
“buoy” means any floating device used for navigational purposes or measurement purposes, including LIDAR and wave buoys;
“cables” means cables for the transmission of electricity, including one or more cable crossings;
“cable circuits” means a number of electrical conductors necessary to transmit electricity between two points within the authorised development; this may comprise, depending on transmission technology, one or more conductors which may be bundled as one cable or take the form of separate cables, and the circuit may include one or more auxiliary cables (normally fibre optic cables) for the purpose of control, monitoring, protection or general communications;
“cable crossings” means a crossing of existing sub-sea cables or pipelines or other existing infrastructure by a cable or, where cables run together in parallel, a set of cables, authorised by this Order together with cable protection;
“cable protection” means physical measures for the protection of cables including but not limited to concrete mattresses, split pipe system, and/or rock placement (including material used for cable crossings);
“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 operations consisting of 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 onshore site preparation works,
and the words “commencement” and “commenced” must be construed accordingly;
“commissioning” means the process of assuring that all systems and components of the authorised development are tested to verify that they function and are operable in accordance with the design objectives, specifications and operational requirements of the undertaker;
“commitments register” means the document certified as the commitments register by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“connection works” means Work Nos. 6 to 10 and any related further associated development in connection with those works;
“deemed marine licences” means the marine licences set out in Schedules 11 (deemed marine licence under the 2009 Act – generation assets) and 12 (deemed marine licence under the 2009 Act – transmission assets);
“the Driffield Navigation Trust” means the Driffield Navigation Trust of 5 New Walk Close, Driffield, East Yorkshire, England, YO25 5LG (Company No. 01468822);
“energy balancing infrastructure” means infrastructure used for the balancing of the output of electrical energy to the national grid;
“environmental statement” means the document certified as the environmental statement by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“gravity base structure” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base which tapers as it rises which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“HAT” means highest astronomical tide;
“highway” and “highway authority” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Act24
“Historic England” means the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England;
“horizontal directional drilling” means a trenchless boring technique for installing cables, cable ducts and other associated apparatus involving drilling in an arc between two points;
“HVAC” means high voltage alternating current;
“HVDC” means high voltage direct current;
“independent design review panel” means a panel consisting of one chairperson and up to five members of which at least one member must be a chartered architect and one a chartered landscape professional. The remainder of the panel may be made up of external experts on architecture, landscaping, urban design, engineering or any other built environment profession. The members of the panel to be appointed by the undertaker following approval by the relevant planning authority;
“interconnector cable” means a network of cables between the offshore substations;
“intrusive environmental surveys” means an environmental survey that requires or is facilitated by breaking the surface of the ground or seabed;
“jacket foundation” means a lattice type structure constructed of steel and additional equipment such as, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms attached to the sea bed by means of either a suction bucket or piles;
“joint bay” means an excavation located at regular intervals along the cable route consisting of a concrete flat base slab constructed beneath the ground to facilitate the jointing together of the cables;
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