A non-material change to the Norfolk Vanguard Development Consent Order (DCO) has been made by statutory instrument on 18 December 2025, coming into force on 19 December 2025. The decision followed the Schedule 6 process under the Planning Act 2008, with publicity and consultation undertaken in accordance with regulations 6 and 7 of the 2011 Regulations.
Article 2 (Interpretation) is updated to insert a definition of “Defra” and to replace the named “undertaker” with Norfolk Vanguard West Limited (Company No. 08141115). This aligns the DCO with Companies House records, which show the project vehicle formerly registered as Norfolk Vanguard Limited adopting its current name in 2023, and replaces the older wording in the 2022 Order.
Schedule 17, Part 3-covering measures to compensate for cable installation and protection within the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation (HHW SAC)-is re-stated. Definitions for the benthic implementation and monitoring plan (BIMP) and the benthic steering group (BSG) are set out, and the previous pre-commencement condition that prevented cable installation in the SAC until a specified area of marine debris had been cleared is removed.
Monitoring duties are strengthened. Results from the agreed monitoring scheme must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the relevant statutory nature conservation body. If monitoring shows the measures are ineffective, proposals to address this must be brought forward and, once approved by the Secretary of State (following consultation with the MMO and the SNCB), implemented by the undertaker.
An adaptive management route is introduced via the Marine Recovery Fund (MRF). Where the required area of marine debris cannot be removed in whole or in part, the undertaker may apply to substitute that activity with a Marine Recovery Fund Payment. Any application must quantify the proportion of impact that is shared with the Norfolk Boreas project because of the shared cable corridor and set out material already removed under the BIMP. The MRF is established under section 292 of the Energy Act 2023 and the Marine Recovery Funds Regulations 2025.
Approval of a substitution depends on two confirmations: the Secretary of State must agree that using the MRF is acceptable in principle-including the exact proportion of the original compensation to be replaced-and Defra or the MRF operator must confirm that the fund can be used and the sums payable. If approved, cable installation within the HHW SAC may not proceed until an implementation and monitoring plan is signed off and the undertaker has been discharged from further on-site compensation obligations under this Part.
The amendment sets out three routes by which the undertaker can be discharged from further obligations under Part 3: approval of a completion report; payment in full of the agreed Marine Recovery Fund amount with written confirmation that this satisfies the compensation requirement; or entry into a contract to make the agreed MRF payment in instalments and payment of the first instalment. A discharge via instalments does not remove the obligation to comply with the payment schedule or other conditions in the MRF contract.
Project teams should now update the BIMP, governance, and budget assumptions to reflect the annual reporting cycle and the potential for an MRF pathway where on-site debris clearance proves infeasible. Defra’s guidance confirms the fund became operational on 17 December 2025, with application, procurement and SNCB‑advice processes in place.
The amendment explicitly recognises interactions with the Norfolk Boreas scheme arising from the shared export cable corridor. This sits alongside MMO variations to deemed marine licences across both projects in 2025 and a separate non-material change decision for Norfolk Boreas issued on 19 December 2025. Evidence bases and proportional impact assessments should therefore be aligned.
For planning and consenting practitioners, the effect is a clearer route to strategic compensation via the MRF where debris removal within the HHW SAC cannot be delivered, while preserving annual oversight and a completion reporting trigger within 12 months of BIMP activities concluding. The legal framework is grounded in paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act 2008 and the 2011 Regulations governing consultation and publicity.