The Secretary of State has approved a non-material change to the Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farm Development Consent Order 2022, with the amending instrument coming into force on 19 December 2025. The update focuses on compensation and monitoring arrangements linked to the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation.
The Order introduces a Marine Recovery Fund Payment as a route to meet certain compensation duties where agreed site-based measures cannot be fully delivered. The Marine Recovery Fund is provided for in section 292 of the Energy Act 2023, which enables payments in respect of offshore wind activities to fund strategic environmental compensation.
The change was taken forward under paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act 2008, with the Secretary of State considering responses to publicity and consultation carried out under regulations 6 and 7 of the 2011 Regulations before making the decision. This confirms the change as non-material in planning law terms.
Two administrative updates are made in Article 2 of the DCO: a definition of “Defra” is inserted and the “undertaker” is clarified as Norfolk Vanguard West Limited (Company No. 08141115). This aligns with recent Marine Management Organisation variations that identify Norfolk Vanguard West and East entities across the project’s licences.
Within Schedule 17, Part 3, the previous sentence that barred cable installation in the HHW SAC until a specified area of marine debris had been removed is omitted. This removes an absolute pre‑commencement bar while leaving the wider compensation framework in place.
Monitoring and reporting are tightened. Results from the monitoring scheme must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body. Where measures prove ineffective, proposals must be submitted and then implemented once approved.
Delivery evidence is formalised: a completion report must be provided to the Secretary of State within 12 months of finishing the activities required by the Benthic Implementation and Monitoring Plan. This sits alongside the updated monitoring duty.
A new adaptive management pathway is created. If the required debris removal cannot be achieved in whole or in part, the undertaker may apply to substitute the unmet element with a Marine Recovery Fund Payment. Approval depends on the Secretary of State being satisfied in principle and on confirmation from Defra (or the fund operator) that the Marine Recovery Fund can be used, including a quantified sum.
The Order sets out three routes to discharge compensation obligations in this Part: approval of a completion report; full payment of the agreed Marine Recovery Fund sum with written confirmation it fulfils the requirement; or entry into an instalment contract for that sum with the first payment made and written confirmation provided. Obligations to meet any remaining instalments continue to apply.
Where impacts are shared with the Norfolk Boreas project because of the shared cable corridor, any Marine Recovery Fund application must state the proportion of the overall debris‑removal requirement attributable to Norfolk Vanguard. This ensures clarity over responsibility across the zone.
For project teams, the operational effect is immediate. If the Marine Recovery Fund route is contemplated, an implementation and monitoring plan must be prepared and approved before any cable installation takes place within the HHW SAC. In parallel, annual monitoring returns and any remedial proposals will require close coordination with the MMO and the statutory nature conservation body.
Contextually, the Norfolk Vanguard Benthic Implementation and Monitoring Plan has previously been updated and approved, and the Marine Recovery Fund mechanism now provides a strategic compensation option where appropriate. Together, these measures aim to maintain coherence of the national site network while enabling delivery of nationally significant offshore wind.