The Secretary of State has approved a non‑material change to the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm Development Consent Order. The Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2025 is now in force, with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishing the decision on 19 December 2025.
The amendment introduces a route for the undertaker to discharge certain compensation requirements via the Marine Recovery Fund where appropriate, in addition to project‑specific measures. The Marine Recovery Fund is provided for by section 292 of the Energy Act 2023 and is now operational under the Marine Recovery Funds Regulations 2025, which commenced on 17 December 2025.
Alongside the compensation changes, the Order clarifies definitions and corporate details. It defines “Defra” for the purposes of the DCO, confirms the “undertaker” as Norfolk Boreas Limited (Company No. 03722058), and corrects specific coordinate references within Schedule 1-technical updates that do not expand the consented scheme. Company information is consistent with the existing 2021 DCO and Companies House records.
For impacts arising from cable installation and protection within the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation, the Order now provides an adaptive management pathway. Where agreed debris‑clearance targets cannot be fully met, the undertaker may apply to substitute a Marine Recovery Fund Payment, subject to the Secretary of State’s acceptance in principle and confirmation from Defra (or the fund operator) of eligibility and monetary quantification. Once an agreed payment (or first instalment under contract) is made, delivery of the approved strategic measure transfers to the fund under the 2025 Regulations.
Monitoring and governance remain central to the compensation package. The benthic implementation and monitoring plan continues to be overseen with input from a steering group, with results provided to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body, and with remedies required where monitoring shows under‑performance. These arrangements sit alongside the 2025 Regulations, which set monitoring duties for fund‑delivered measures.
The HHW SAC comprises sandbanks and Sabellaria spinulosa reef off the Norfolk coast-features sensitive to cable installation and protection. The compensation measures secured through the DCO and, where used, the Marine Recovery Fund are framed to support the site’s conservation objectives.
The Order also recognises the interaction with neighbouring projects within the Norfolk zone. Given the shared cable corridor with Norfolk Vanguard, decisions on any Marine Recovery Fund Payment and proportionality will be taken by the Secretary of State in consultation with the MMO and the statutory nature conservation body, alongside any relevant Marine Management Organisation variations to deemed marine licences across the zone.
For developers, the practical effect is a second, regulated compliance route. Project teams should assess whether physical debris‑clearance remains achievable within construction windows; where not, they should prepare an application to use the fund with supporting evidence and advice from the statutory nature conservation body, reserving a strategic compensatory measure through Defra’s process.
Defra’s application guidance sets out the sequence: eligibility checks, reservation of a strategic compensatory measure, and payment of a reservation fee (banded from £15,000 to £200,000 depending on the measure’s scale). Only the consenting authority can determine that a payment discharges a compensation condition; after the first instalment under the fund contract, delivery responsibility for the allocated measure passes to the fund operator under the Regulations.
In policy terms, embedding the Marine Recovery Fund route in DCO documentation standardises strategic compensation while maintaining statutory protections. For Norfolk Boreas, the non‑material change took effect on 19 December 2025 and now forms part of the certified framework governing construction and cable installation.