North Falls Offshore Wind Farm’s Examination underway and timetable finalised
Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm. North Falls’ design may differ. Image credit: SSE Renewables.
- Examination underway as of Tuesday 28 January 2025
- Examination timetable finalised via issuing of Rule 8 letter
- Six-month Examination period expected to conclude by end of July 2025
The Examination period for North Falls Offshore Wind Farm is now officially underway, following the conclusion of the Preliminary Meeting on Tuesday 28 January 2025.
The purpose of the Preliminary Meeting was to consider how the Project’s Development Consent Order (DCO) application will be examined. The first Open Floor Hearing (OFH1) was held the day after the Preliminary Meeting, on Wednesday 29 January 2025. OFH1 allowed Interested Parties to speak directly to the Examining Authority (ExA) about their views on the Project’s application. You can watch recordings of the Preliminary Meeting and OFH1 via the links provided.
Following the Preliminary Meeting and OFH1, the ExA has finalised the Project’s timetable for Examination via the issuing of a Rule 8 letter on Tuesday 4 February 2025. As well as a finalised timetable for Examination, this letter also includes:
- An invitation to submit written representations
- Details of the publication of the ExA’s written questions
- Procedural decisions made by the ExA
- Notification of hearings
- Information about hearings and accompanied site inspections
- Information about the availability of Examination documents
- Guidance on the use of the ‘make a submission’ tab on the Project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s website
The ExA has made a procedural decision to hold the following hearings:
- Issue Specific Hearing (ISH1) on 2, 3 and 4 April 2025
- Issue Specific Hearing (ISH2) on 8, 9 and 10 April 2025
ISH1 and ISH2 will be blended events, so part in-person and part virtual.
The week beginning 16 June 2025 has also been reserved for further Issue Specific Hearing(s), Compulsory Acquisition Hearing(s) and Open Floor Hearing(s), if required.
More information about taking part in Examination hearings can be found in the Rule 8 letter. Explanatory videos are included on the Project’s current status page and Planning Inspectorate guidance can be found here.
What is Examination?
The overriding aim of an Examination is to ensure that the Project’s principle issues are proportionately, and reasonably, considered. The ExA has six months to carry out the Examination, meaning Examination is expected to conclude by the end of July 2025.
The ExA will ask questions about the proposed development and anyone who has registered to have their say can get involved and submit comments at each deadline in the Examination timetable. Comments can be provided in writing or with a request to speak at a public hearing.
How to take part
A have your say page is available on the Project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s website for people to provide written submissions at relevant deadlines during the Examination. If you are not already an Interested Party then it will be at the discretion of the ExA whether or not your submission is accepted. Submissions will be published on the Project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s website as soon as practicable following the close of the relevant deadline.
Should you experience any issues while using the Project pages on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, you can contact the Planning Inspectorate’s North Falls case team directly by calling 0303 444 5000 or emailing northfalls@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.
What happens after Examination?
Following the close of Examination, the Project will enter the Recommendation stage, during which the Planning Inspectorate has three months to prepare a report and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State. The Project then enters the Decision stage, during which the Secretary of State has a further three months to make a decision as to whether to grant the Project development consent. We expect to achieve development consent in early 2026.
For further information please refer to the Project page on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, from where you can also register for Project updates.
