The Planning Act 2008 Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm
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The Planning Act 2008 Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change _______________________________________ Rynd Smith LLB MA MRTPI FRSA Examining Authority Date: 26 June 2014 Report to the Secretary of State 1 This page intentionally left blank Report to the Secretary of State 1 The Examining Authority's findings, conclusions and recommendation in respect of an application by DONG Energy Burbo Extension (UK) Ltd. for an Order Granting Development Consent for the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm. File Ref EN010026 The application, dated 22 March 2013, was made under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). The applicant is DONG Energy Burbo Extension (UK) Ltd. The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 22 March 2013. It was accepted for examination on 19 April 2013. The examination of the application began on 26 September 2013 and was completed on 26 March 2014. The application site is located in Liverpool Bay, some 12 km offshore from Point of Ayr (Flintshire / Sir y Fflint, Wales), 7 - 11 km from the north coast of the Wirral peninsula (Wirral, Merseyside) and 8.5 km from Crosby beach (Sefton, Merseyside). The application site adjoins the south- western boundary of the constructed and operational Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm. The development proposed comprises the construction and operation of the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm, with up to 69 wind turbine generators and associated offshore infrastructure with a maximum installed capacity (as amended) of 259 MW in an offshore array over a sea area extending to some 40 km2. The associated development comprises an offshore substation and cable to provide part of a grid connection. On the basis that the development is proposed to be connected to the grid in Wales, the application proposal is limited to works in English territorial waters. Part of the grid connection in Welsh territorial waters is the subject of a separate application for a Welsh marine licence. Part of the grid connection on land in Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych, Wales is the subject of an extant grant of planning permission, but is subject to an undecided compulsory purchase order. Summary of Recommendation: I recommend that the Secretary of State should make the Development Consent Order with minor changes in the form attached in Appendix D to this Report. Report to the Secretary of State 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 4 APPOINTMENT ....................................................................... 4 THE APPLICATION .................................................................. 4 THE PRELIMINARY MEETING .................................................... 6 THE EXAMINATION PROCESS .................................................. 6 WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS .................................................. 7 WRITTEN QUESTIONS ............................................................ 7 STATEMENTS OF COMMON GROUND ........................................ 8 AGREEMENTS ...................................................................... 10 HEARINGS .......................................................................... 13 SITE INSPECTIONS .............................................................. 14 REPORT ON IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPEAN SITES (RIES) ......... 14 TRANSBOUNDARY EFFECTS ................................................... 15 COMPULSORY ACQUISITION AND OTHER PROCEDURES ............ 15 ENGAGEMENT ON THE DRAFT DCO ......................................... 15 OTHER CONSENTS ............................................................... 16 EXAMINATION CLOSURE ....................................................... 18 THE STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT ......................................... 18 2 THE APPLICATION AND ITS SETTING ...................................... 20 THE APPLICATION ................................................................ 20 RELATED APPLICATIONS IN WALES ........................................ 22 MINOR CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION .................................. 23 PLANNING HISTORY ............................................................. 25 THE APPLICATION SETTING .................................................. 25 3 LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT .................................................. 32 RELEVANT APPLICATION AND EXAMINATION DOCUMENTS ........ 32 PLANNING ACT 2008 REQUIREMENTS ..................................... 33 EUROPEAN REQUIREMENTS .................................................. 36 OTHER INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS ................................... 39 TRANSBOUNDARY EFFECTS ................................................... 40 MARINE AND COASTAL ACCESS ACT 2009 ............................... 40 OTHER UK LEGAL AND POLICY PROVISIONS ............................ 42 4 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS IN RELATION TO POLICY AND FACTUAL ISSUES ..................... 46 INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF PRINCIPAL ISSUES .......................... 46 THE ISSUES FRAMEWORK IN THIS REPORT ............................. 46 PART A: DEVELOPMENT NEED AND APPROACH ......................... 47 PART B: GOOD DESIGN ........................................................ 53 PART C: OTHER PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS ............................ 53 PART D: BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGY AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT .................................................................... 54 PART E: DEFENCE AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE .... 59 PART F: SEASCAPE, TOWNSCAPE, LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL EFFECTS ............................................................................. 67 PART G: HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT ......................................... 76 Report to the Secretary of State 2 PART H: SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS ...................................... 82 PART I: CONSTRUCTION ....................................................... 91 PART J: THE GRID CONNECTION ............................................ 97 PART K: EMFS AND CABLE HEATING ....................................... 99 PART L: OTHER MATTERS ..................................................... 100 5 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS IN RELATION TO HABITATS REGULATIONS ............................ 103 PART A: THE HRA PROCESS .................................................. 103 PART B: THE RELEVANT EUROPEAN SITES .............................. 105 PART C: IN-COMBINATION EFFECTS ...................................... 107 PART D: IN-BUILT MITIGATION ............................................. 109 PART E: HRA INFORMATION ................................................. 110 PART F: THE RIES - DRAFT CONCLUSIONS ............................. 111 PART G: THE RIES - MATTERS ARISING FROM RESPONSES ....... 112 PART H: EVALUATION .......................................................... 113 HRA CONCLUSIONS ............................................................ 127 6 EFFECTS ON LAND, INTERESTS IN AND RIGHTS OVER LAND .. 130 COMPULSORY ACQUISITION ................................................ 130 THE PROTECTION OF STATUTORY UNDERTAKERS AND OTHER SPECIAL PROCEDURES ........................................................ 130 CROWN LAND ..................................................................... 131 HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CONSIDERATIONS ................................. 133 CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 133 7 DRAFT DEVELEOPMENT CONSENT ORDER .............................. 134 PART A: FROM THE APPLICATION TO THE APPLICANT’S PREFERRED REVISED DRAFT ................................................................. 134 PART B: TOWARDS THE RECOMMENDED DRAFT DCO ............... 136 DCO CONCLUSION .............................................................. 159 8 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION .......... 160 Appendices APPENDIX A: EXAMINATION LIBRARY ................................................. 1 APPENDIX B: EVENTS IN THE EXAMINATION ....................................... 2 APPENDIX C: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................... 6 APPENDIX D: RECOMMENDED DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER ............ 9 APPENDIX E: REPORT ON THE IMPACT ON EUROPEAN SITES (RIES) ..... 10 Report to the Secretary of State 3 ERRATA SHEET – Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm - Ref. EN010026 Examining authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, dated 26 June 2014 Corrections agreed by the Examining Authority prior to a decision being made Page No. Paragraph Error Correction 24 2.16 Typo Line 5 – add the word “the” to the line to read “become a different proposal to the originally applied for application” 46 4.3 Typo Last line – remove the word “ensures” and add “ensured” 58 4.63 Typo Line 3 – remove the word “of” from the line to read “… studies had indicated…” 79 4.169 Typo Line 12 – remove the second instance of “are” 91 4.228 Cross reference Last line - remove reference to “Part B” and add reference to“Part D” 129 5.111 Typo Line 5 – remove the word “not” and substitute for the word “note” 131 6.11 Typo Line 2 – remove the word “include” and add the word “included” 146 7.67 Typo Line 7 – remove the word “sect” and add the word “set” 149 7.79 Typo The reference to paragraph 7.72 should reference paragraph 7.74, however the hyperlink is correct 151 7.93 Typo The reference to paragraph 206 of the NPPF should read paragraph 306 157 7.123