Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (): This Statement concerns an application for
development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by Five
Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm Limited 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. Whilst 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.
