The Examination period for North Falls Offshore Wind Farm officially concluded on 28 July 2025, marking a significant milestone in the Project’s ambition to deliver clean, renewable energy for hundreds of thousands of UK homes and businesses.
This follows an extensive and robust examination of our Development Consent Order (DCO) application conducted by a five-person Examining Authority appointed by the Planning Inspectorate. Examination took place over six months and included five hearings and the submission of hundreds of documents.
Transcripts, recordings and summary notes are available via the Project page on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Our Closing Statement provides a final evaluation of North Falls’ application, including an up-to-date position on the principal issues identified by the Examining Authority, as well as other subjects raised throughout the Examination process. It also summarises the Applicant’s case, as detailed in the application documents, hearings and Statements of Common Ground, without introducing any new information. Additionally, it provides North Falls’ position on unresolved matters with interested parties and underscores the needs, benefits and overarching justification for the Project.
There is lots of information available via our Project page on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, including the recordings and the transcripts from all of the Examination hearings: Issue Specific Hearing 1 and 2; Open Floor Hearing 1 ; and Compulsory Acquisition Hearing.
The overriding aim of an Examination is to ensure that issues are proportionately, and reasonably, considered.
The examination of applications is principally on the basis of written submissions, supplemented where necessary by hearings held in public, either in-person, virtually, or a blend of the two.
Inspectors assigned by the Planning Inspectorate (known as the Examining Authority or ‘ExA’) have held the Preliminary Meeting and subsequently set the timetable for Examination, as described above.
The Examination period for North Falls Offshore Wind Farm has now officially concluded (on 28 July 2025), marking a significant milestone in the Project’s ambition to deliver clean, renewable energy for hundreds of thousands of UK homes and businesses.
The Planning Inspectorate now has three months to compile a report and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State will then have a further three months to reach a decision as to whether to grant development consent. We expect a decision to be made in late January 2026.
If the DCO is granted, the Project is able to proceed, subject to securing a contract for difference (CfD) and final investment decision (FID).
Once a decision has been issued by the relevant Secretary of State, there is a six-week period in which the decision may be challenged in the High Court. This process of legal challenge is known as Judicial Review.
If granted development consent, we currently anticipate phased construction taking a maximum of five years, beginning with pre-construction works expected to take place from 2027.
North Falls is aiming to be operational by the end of the decade.
The Project’s Development Consent Order (DCO) application was submitted on 26 July 2024 and accepted for Examination by the Planning Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 22 August 2024. Following which, the Project entered the Pre-examination stage.
The Pre-examination stage included the following activity:
• Receipt of Relevant Representations by the Planning Inspectorate: This process concluded on 18 October 2024. You can view the Relevant Representations submitted by Interested Parties here. You can read more about Relevant Representations and why they are important in paragraph four of the government’s guidance on the Pre-application stage.
• Identification of Interested Parties and affected persons: This process concluded on 18 October 2024.
• Appointment of the Examining Authority: The Examining Authority (ExA) was appointed on 13 September 2024. This was confirmed by the publishing of a Rule 4 letter under sections 61 and 65 of the Planning Act 2008.
• Initial assessment of principal issues by the Examining Authority: These were included in the Rule 6 letter issued on 10 December 2024.
• Holding a Preliminary Meeting: This took place on 27 January 2025. You can watch a recording of the Preliminary Meeting here.
The Examination period for North Falls Offshore Wind Farm officially concluded on 28 July 2025, marking a significant milestone in the Project’s ambition to deliver clean, renewable energy for hundreds of thousands of UK homes and businesses. Examination included four hearings, an accompanied site inspection and preliminary meeting, as well as the submission of around 300 documents and nearly 500 questions answered.
Transcripts, recordings and summary notes are available via the Project page on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
All of the Project’s application documents can be viewed via the documents tab of the Project page on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
