The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has made the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2025 as a non‑material change to the 2021 Development Consent Order under the Planning Act 2008. The instrument was made on 18 December 2025 and came into force on 19 December 2025 following the Secretary of State’s decision on that date.
The amendment introduces an option for the undertaker to make a Marine Recovery Fund Payment where the required area of marine debris removal cannot be fully delivered within the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation. The mechanism is anchored in section 292 of the Energy Act 2023, which provides for establishment and operation of one or more marine recovery funds to deliver strategic environmental compensation for relevant offshore wind activities.
Part 3 of Schedule 19 to the DCO-covering compensation to protect the coherence of the national site network in the HHW SAC-is substantially revised. The previous pre‑commencement threshold requiring removal of at least 8.3 hectares of marine debris before any cable installation in the SAC is deleted. Instead, if the Secretary of State agrees that a Marine Recovery Fund route is acceptable in principle and the fund operator confirms the sums due, works may proceed once an implementation and monitoring plan is approved and compensation obligations are formally discharged.
The Order strengthens monitoring and reporting. Unless otherwise agreed, results from the benthic monitoring scheme must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body. Any finding that measures are ineffective must be accompanied by proposals, which the undertaker must implement once approved in writing.
Key terms are clarified. The amendment defines the benthic implementation and monitoring plan (BIMP), the benthic steering group (BSG) that guides its scope, and the completion report, which must be provided within 12 months of completing activities. It also defines “Defra” for the purposes of the Order and replaces the definition of “undertaker” with Norfolk Boreas Limited (Company No. 03722058), aligning the consent with current corporate details.
Where impacts on the HHW SAC are shared with the Norfolk Vanguard project by virtue of the shared cable corridor, any application to use the Marine Recovery Fund must set out the proportion of the overall debris‑removal requirement attributable to each scheme and quantify removals completed to date. The shared infrastructure linkage between Boreas and Vanguard is reflected in the 2021 DCO, which provides for connections to an offshore electrical platform within Norfolk Vanguard East in one consented scenario.
The Order creates clear discharge pathways for compensation obligations. The undertaker is released either after the Secretary of State approves the completion report; upon payment in full of the agreed Marine Recovery Fund sum and written confirmation that compensation requirements are met; or after entering a contract for instalments with the fund operator and making the first payment, again subject to written confirmation. Entering into instalments does not remove the duty to continue payments under that contract.
In addition to the compensation and reporting changes, the Order makes technical corrections to the geographic coordinates of the authorised development. Schedule 1 point 29 longitude is updated to 002° 59’ 17.972” E; point 67 longitude to 002° 59’ 02.0169” E; and point 164 is set at 52° 50’ 36.142” N and 002° 35’ 08.679” E, ensuring the works plan aligns to precise survey data.
For project controls, the practical gate is now confirmation from the Secretary of State that an implementation and monitoring plan is approved and that the undertaker is discharged from further compensation delivery under Schedule 19. This replaces the fixed area clearance threshold and links the DCO to the strategic compensation framework envisaged by the Energy Act’s Marine Recovery Fund provisions.
Context for delivery teams: the Norfolk projects are now led by RWE Renewables UK, and in October 2025 the Marine Management Organisation varied multiple deemed marine licences for Boreas and Vanguard, including updates to monitoring conditions and administrative details. The DCO amendment complements those licensing adjustments and provides a route for strategic compensation where site‑specific debris removal proves constrained.