Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm: Development Consent

This statement concerns an application for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm Ltd for the construction and operation of an offshore generating station comprised of up to 79 wind turbine generators, off the coast of Essex and Suffolk.

Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a statement to Parliament to announce it.

The statutory deadline for the decision on the Five Estuaries offshore wind farm is 17 September 2025.

I have decided to allow an extension and to set a new deadline of 17 December 2025. This is to allow time to request further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period and to give all interested parties the opportunity to review and comment on such information. While it is not my preference to extend, I am clear that applications for consent for energy projects submitted under the Planning Act 2008 must meet the necessary standards.

The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.

[HCWS919]