We are in Phase 2 of a two-phase engagement process. Please provide any feedback you may have on the second draft of the Design Guide by 11:59pm Tuesday 17 March 2026.
The full Design Guide is available to read here.
Feedback can be shared by:
Please note that you only need to submit your feedback to one project for it to be considered for both.
Generally, we’ve achieved consensus on the majority of the topics for which we presented options for during Phase 1. We’re therefore seeking comments on how we’ve interpreted the feedback received during Phase 1 and how the Design Guide has evolved as a result.
The full Design Guide is available to read here.
The Joint Substations Design Guide (Design Guide) is being produced by North Falls and Five Estuaries offshore wind farms to inform the detailed design of North Falls and Five Estuaries’ co-located onshore substations.
The Design Guide brings together the two projects’ individual approaches and plans into one combined document that will be provided, alongside other documents, the commissioned substation designers, setting a fixed framework for the final substation designs.
Illustrative Landscape and Ecology Masterplan, taken from the second draft of the Design Guide.
The purpose of the Design Guide is to:
The Design Guide is split into nine parts:
This sets the scene for the design guidance included in the subsequent parts of the Design Guide.
This provides context for the projects and outlines clear regulatory, technical and performance requirements for future detailed design.
This provides an overview of the engagement process taken to create the Design Guide, and a summary of the changes made to the Design Guide as a result of feedback received.
You can also request a printed copy or ask any questions you may have by emailing contact@northfallsoffshore.com.
The first draft of the Design Guide presented optionality and invited feedback on topic areas such as colour, landscaping and fencing.
We received some really helpful and insightful feedback during Phase 1 of the engagement process, which took place between 18 August and 29 September 2025, receiving 19 pieces of feedback and welcoming over 60 people to our public information day in Lawford.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to engage in the process and provide feedback. A summary of feedback received is included below. The final draft of the Design Guide – to be issued later this year following the conclusion of Phase 2 – will include a more detailed overview of feedback received and how it’s been considered.
* Future milestones are as anticipated at the time of publishing and subject to change.
The second draft of the Design Guide is more technical in nature as we look to more closely align it with its ultimate purpose – to be used as a document that informs the tender and detailed design processes by providing a clear indication of design requirements for the two projects.
Its content has been informed by feedback received during Phase 1 and further input provided by Essex County Council, Tendring District Council and the Essex Quality Review Panel (EQRP).
A working group focusing on the design process between the projects and councils was established early in the Joint Design Guide process, with a clear goal to ensure transparency and oversight.
The group has and will continue to meet on a regular basis to share updates and insight as the Design Guide develops and during the detailed design phase.
An output of this working group has been the inclusion of the Essex Quality Review Panel (EQPR) in the process. Established by the Essex Planning Officers Association, in partnership with Place Services, the EQRP ensures delivery and promotion of high quality new developments within Essex through the creation of good design, sustainability, and improved quality, creating better places and environments to work and live in the county.
The councils will also be invited to observe or will be fully briefed on the process and outcomes on the Design Review Panel (format dependent). The Design Review Panel is an internal North Falls and Five Estuaries panel. Members will be appointed from elsewhere within the shareholders’ organisations to provide technical guidance and experience throughout the Joint Design Guide process, ensuring that design quality is maintained throughout the whole process and during construction.
North Falls and Five Estuaries understand the benefits of coordinating with nearby projects (National Grid’s Norwich to Tilbury and the Tarchon Interconnector Project) and aim to do so wherever possible. To this end, we are in regular dialogue with National Grid and the Tarchon Project and we have signed a ‘Cooperation Agreement’ with National Grid regarding interactions and activities around the proposed substation sites.
In some areas, however, coordination at this time is naturally limited. This is because all the projects are on different timelines and at different stages of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting process. During 2026, Norwich to Tilbury is likely to reach the Examination stage of the NSIP consenting process and the Tarchon Project will likely hold its statutory consultation. North Falls and Five Estuaries are more advanced and expect to receive their consent decisions from the Secretary of State in 2025 and early 2026 respectively. As a result, we are in a position to carry out engagement on the Joint Substations Design Guide (Design Guide) ahead of starting to engage with substation designers and contractors.
We have committed to co-locate our respective substations and we will share the same onshore cable corridor. Our timelines are also very similar. All of which means we are able to more closely coordinate and carry out this engagement together.
Norwich to Tilbury’s onshore substation (the East Anglia Connection Node, or ‘EACN’) is the connection point for our projects, but it is proposed to be situated adjacent to, rather than co-located with, our proposed substations.
National Grid will be a key stakeholder throughout the Design Guide engagement process, and we will ensure that any proposals brought forward consider Norwich to Tilbury and the Tarchon Project. Alongside Essex County Council and Tendring District Council, we will pass on shared experience and knowledge to these nearby projects, helping to ensure that their design processes complement our own and develop in the best interests of local communities.
