The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has confirmed a non‑material change to the Norfolk Boreas Development Consent Order, effective from 19 December 2025. The amendment creates a formal pathway for meeting Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation compensation via a Marine Recovery Fund payment where required works cannot be fully delivered, while keeping monitoring obligations in place. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/norfolk-boreas-non-material-change-planning-act-2008))
The change was made under paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act 2008 and processed through the Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011. In practice, this confirms that the Secretary of State has accepted the modification as non‑material and applied it to the existing 2021 Order. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2055?utm_source=openai))
The Order introduces an adaptive route: the undertaker may apply to the Secretary of State to use the Marine Recovery Fund in substitution for any part of the benthic compensation that proves unachievable. Approval requires two tests-ministerial agreement in principle to the substitution and confirmation from Defra (or the fund operator) that the fund can be used, including quantified sums due. This aligns with section 292 of the Energy Act 2023, which provides for funds to receive payments and for those payments to discharge compensation conditions where determined. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/52/section/292?utm_source=openai))
Once an application is approved, cable installation within the HHW SAC may proceed only after an implementation and monitoring plan is cleared by the Secretary of State and the undertaker is formally discharged from the specific compensation delivery duties. Discharge can occur on acceptance of a completion report, full payment into the fund, or by entering a contractual instalment plan and making the first payment; any payment schedule then continues to bind the undertaker. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/norfolk-boreas-non-material-change-planning-act-2008))
The monitoring framework is tightened. Results from the scheme must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body, and evidence of any ineffective measures must be accompanied by proposals for corrective action for approval and implementation. This maintains the oversight structure already familiar to East Anglia projects. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/norfolk-boreas-and-norfolk-vanguard-offshore-wind-farms-variation-2?utm_source=openai))
A previous pre‑commencement threshold linked to marine debris removal within the HHW SAC has been removed, decoupling cable‑lay start dates from a fixed clearance milestone. For context, the sister Norfolk Vanguard Order equated the compensatory debris‑removal area to up to 8.3 hectares-an indication of the scale at which such programmes have been designed. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/138/schedule/17?utm_source=openai))
The amendment also accounts for the shared cable corridor with Norfolk Vanguard by allowing the undertaker to set out the proportion of any remaining debris‑removal requirement attributable to Boreas when seeking to use the fund route. That proportionality reflects how both projects interface with the same designated site and the MMO’s parallel licensing decisions across the zone. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/norfolk-boreas-and-norfolk-vanguard-offshore-wind-farms-variation-2?utm_source=openai))
For developers and lenders, the practical effect is schedule resilience. The fund route allows a priced liability-confirmed by Defra or the fund operator-to substitute for physical clearance that may be constrained by weather or access, while annual reporting keeps environmental performance under scrutiny. Finance teams should bring the compensation item onto the capital plan with an allowance pending pricing confirmation, and construction leads should prepare the implementation and monitoring plan early to avoid administrative delays. ([legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/52/section/292?utm_source=openai))
DESNZ’s notice confirms the decision date as 19 December 2025. Project teams should now track any regulations establishing and operating the fund and watch for formal confirmation from Defra that the mechanism can be used for this site, as required by section 292 of the Energy Act 2023. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/norfolk-boreas-non-material-change-planning-act-2008))