The engagement of this project has ended
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Development consent granted for Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extension Projects
On 17 April 2024, the UK Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero granted development consent for SEP and DEP. The projects are extensions to the operational Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farms, which currently power around 710,000 UK homes.
The development consent enables SEP and DEP to double the capacity of the existing wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes. Together, Equinor’s wind farms in Norfolk will power nearly 1.5 million households and make a significant contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Through a coordinated approach and extensive consultations with local community members, Equinor has sought to develop the projects to maximise local benefits and minimise disruption. This is the first time in the UK that two offshore wind projects under separate ownership have been awarded consent under a shared application, providing an opportunity to combine the development of the two projects. This includes the projects’ transmission cables sharing the same onshore cable route.
We are grateful for the community's engagement with SEP and DEP throughout the pre-application and examination process; this engagement has been invaluable in helping us to shape the projects.
We will provide further updates in due course regarding the forthcoming programme for the projects. To read the Secretary of States decision in full please follow this link
Examination Ends for SEP and DEP
On 21-22 June, PINS held the third round of examination hearings on SEP and DEP at the Kings' Centre in Norwich. Recordings and transcripts of the hearings and any further updates are available on the PINS website here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/eastern/sheringham-and-dudgeon-extension-projects/
The examination phase has now concluded as of 17 July, which means that PINS has three months to review the materials and develop their recommendation on whether or not to approve the projects. They will then submit this recommendation to the Secretary of State, who has another three months to make a final decision about whether to grant consent.
SEP & DEP Targeted Consultation 2023
We have proposed a change to the SEP & DEP cable route around the Food Enterprise Park. Click here to view and download the materials for the targeted consultation.
Second Round of SEP & DEP Examination Hearings
On 22 – 31 March, PINS conducted the second set of examination hearings on SEP and DEP. The first week of hearings were held at the King’s Centre in Norwich and the second week were held at Fishmonger’s Hall at Gresham School in Holt. Recordings and transcripts of the hearings can be found on the PINS website here.
SEP and DEP Examination Hearings
On 17 – 20 January, PINS conducted the first set of examination hearings on SEP and DEP at Blackfriars Hall in Norwich. Recordings and transcripts of the hearings can be found on the PINS website here.
A second round of hearings will take place soon, on 22 – 23 March at the King’s Centre in Norwich, and 29 - 31 March at Fishmonger’s Hall at Gresham School in Holt. To find out more about the hearings, the draft agenda and how to register attendance, please visit the PINS website.
SEP and DEP Accepted for Examination
On 5 September 2022, Equinor submitted an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for SEP and DEP to the Planning Inspectorate, who act on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). On 3 October, the Planning Inspectorate determined that the application met the standards to be accepted for examination. All of the documents that comprise the application are available to be viewed by the public on the Planning Inspectorate's website here, or on this website below, as well as in person at North Norfolk Council Offices NR 27 9EN and Thorpe Lodge NR7 0DU.
Any person who was interested in becoming an 'Interested Party' could register and submit a Relevant Representation to the Planning Inspectorate by 14 November 2022. All of the representations that have been made are now available to view on the Planning Inspectorate's website here. At this time, the project is now reviewing the relevant representations and preparing for the examination stage.
SEP and DEP Offshore Transmission Network Review Virtual Information Session Recording
On 22 July 2021, Equinor hosted a Virtual Information Session on the Offshore Transmission Network Review (OTNR) for parish and town councils.
The session focused on a range of topics about the OTNR, followed by the opportunity to ask questions to both Equinor and industry experts. The session followed the below agenda:
A full recording of the presentations given and the Q&A session is available to view on our website here . Additionally, a write up of the Q&A session is available for download from the same page.
Reminder to provide feedback on our phase two consultation
This is a reminder to provide your feedback on our proposals for the Sheringham Shoal Extension Project (SEP) and Dudgeon Extension Project (DEP), as our phase two consultation period ends on Thursday 10 June.
Our virtual exhibition, where you can find out more about our proposals, can be accessed at https://event.sepanddep.co.uk/
You can provide your feedback online via our consultation website https://sepanddep.commonplace.is/
You can also provide your comments via alternative methods. We have hard copy feedback forms which can be filled in, and sent back to us free of charge via our freepost address: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT. If you would like a hard copy feedback form, please get in touch via the contact details below, or download one from our documents library: https://sepanddep.commonplace.is/proposals/13-documents-library-phase-two
Our communications lines will remain open following the close of our consultation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at the following details:
Email: info@sepanddep.co.uk
Freephone: 0808 1963 673
Freepost: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT
Our Community Liaison Officer Nigel Tompkins is also always available for contact. Nigel can be contacted at nigel@ni4b.co.uk or 01263 822427 / 07860 206565.
SEP and DEP Community Q&A Session Tuesday 11 May 2 pm - 4 pm: Onshore substation and grid connection
This session will be focused on the onshore substation and grid connection , however if you are unable to attend your preferred event, any questions will be answered in this session.
Based on community feedback, we have now extended all Community Q&A Sessions to last for two hours . This session will run from 2 pm – 4 pm and can be accessed via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86810099995
If you have internet connectivity issues, or prefer to use a phone, it is also possible to dial-in to the event from a phone. Please note that if you dial in you will only receive the audio element of the Community Q&A Session. Those attending via phone can raise their hand by dialling *9 to ask a question to the project team. To join via phone, please dial one of the numbers below:
Then enter the corresponding Webinar ID: 868 1009 9995
Before attending our Community Q&A Sessions, we recommend watching the relevant recording of the presentations given by the SEP and DEP project team to elected members during the webinars held from Monday 26 - Wednesday 28 April. These are viewable by clicking here.
A detailed step-by-step guide for how to access the Community Q&A Session is available on our consultation website, by clicking here.
If you have any questions about our community Q&A sessions, or our proposals for SEP and DEP, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the information lines below.
Email: info@sepanddep.co.uk
Freephone: 0808 1963 673
Freepost: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT
Thursday 29 April - Phase Two Consultation Launch
Our phase two consultation is running for six weeks between Thursday 29 April and Thursday 10 June 2021. During this time, we want to hear your views on our refined proposals for SEP and DEP.
The phase two consultation accompanies the publication of our Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) – a major milestone in our project. This has been a great collaborative effort, including studies, Expert Topic Group meetings, discussions with representatives, and alignment with developers and companies. This consultation marks the opportunity for community members, representatives and stakeholders to provide feedback on our proposals and the information presented in our PEIR.
We would like you to take a look at the material, and share your comments, thoughts and concerns with us. Our aim is to find solutions that enable SEP and DEP to be delivered in a way that is sustainable and acceptable to local residents, community members and stakeholders.
Like everybody, the ongoing Covid-19 situation forces us to make adjustments and we will be continuing our engagement with you in a virtual manner. Compared to phase one consultation, we are keeping what worked well, such as our SEP and DEP consultation website and a new virtual exhibition room. We also have all the same communications channels available through which you can get in touch with us. Our virtual exhibition can be accessed via our consultation website, where you can give us your views and find out more information about SEP and DEP ( https://sepanddep.commonplace.is/ ).
In addition, any community member will be able to get in touch with our team and ask questions in our drop-in sessions. Our Community Liaison Officer Nigel Tompkins is always available for contact and our mailbox is open to any enquiries you might have. Nigel can be contacted at nigel@ni4b.co.uk or 01263 822427 / 07860 206565.
You can also provide your comments via alternative methods. We also have hard copy feedback forms which can be filled in, and sent back to us free of charge via our freepost address: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT. If you would like a hard copy feedback form, please get in touch via the contact details below.
As a long-time member of the Norfolk community – our Sheringham Shoal project recently celebrated its tenth birthday – and with multiple community initiatives continuing via our Community Funds, developing the SEP and DEP projects enable us to continue to nurture our relationship with Norfolk communities.
We are inviting comments on our refined proposals until Thursday 10 June 2021. Our communications lines will remain open following this period. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at the following details:
Email: info@sepanddep.co.uk
Freephone: 0808 1963 673
Freepost: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT
Kind regards,
Kari Hege Mørk
Project Manager
Equinor New Energy Limited
Consultation Summary Report
Your comments are being considered as we develop our proposals. We have produced a Consultation Summary Report to provide an overview of the feedback we received on our early stage proposals, and the next steps for the project moving forward. To view the Consultation Summary Report, please click here.
During our phase one consultation, we welcomed over 1,700 visitors to our virtual exhibition and received almost 300 pieces of feedback.
Our second phase of consultation is indicatively planned for spring 2021, where we hope to hold face-to-face consultation events. In the meantime, if you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to get in touch via the contact details below.
All of our consultation materials, including the Consultation Summary Report and materials displayed as part of our phase one consultation, are available to download from our website (sepanddep.commonplace.is).
If you have any questions about our proposals or require any printed copies of this leaflet, please do not hesitate to get in touch at the following details:
Email: info@sepanddep.co.uk
Freephone: 0808 1963 673
Freepost: FREEPOST DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT
Our dedicated Community Liaison Officer (CLO), Nigel Tompkins, can also be contacted at nigel@ni4b.co.uk or 01263 822427 / 07860 206565.
Close of Phase One Consultation
We have recorded all of the feedback which was received, and this is being considered by the project team as part of the development of the proposals for the Extension Projects.
To provide an overview of the feedback we received and how this has been considered, we will be producing a phase one consultation summary report, which will be made available in our documents library . We will provide you with a further update once this has been published.
In the meantime, all of our information lines remain open should you have any further questions about our proposals.
Email: info@sepanddep.co.uk
Freephone: 08081 963673
Freepost: FREEPORT DUDGEON AND SHERINGHAM EXT
Phase one consultation – Thursday 09 July - Thursday 20 August 2020
Today we have launched our phase one consultation for the proposed Sheringham and Dudgeon Extension Projects. For more information, view our proposals on our consultation website, where you can also navigate through our virtual exhibition space.
The deadline for feedback is Thursday 20 August 2020.