Consultation on Norwich to Tilbury transmission infrastructure

This consultation has now closed.

The NFU has submitted its response to National Grid’s third consultation (statutory) on the Norwich to Tilbury project.

Building on our previous consultation responses, this response has highlighted some of the individual issues raised by NFU members, such as the NGET (National Grid Electricity Transmission’s) communication and coordination with affected landowners, and the proposed location of pylons.

This response also highlights members’ preference for undergrounding of cables where possible, and mentions the National Grid ESO (electric systems operator) study from March, which states that an onshore underground HVDC (high-voltage direct current) option could be the most cost effective should the project be delayed to a 2034 delivery.

While we have previously mentioned the possibility of NGET exploring an offshore grid in order to reduce the overall impact on landowners, this has not been mentioned in this consultation response, as it has been comprehensively covered in our previous consultation responses, and is part of ongoing lobbying efforts with NGET.

Cumulative impact

Once again, the NFU has highlighted the cumulative impacts of multiple infrastructure projects on agricultural land and businesses, pushing for NGET to work more strategically with other operators to minimise these impacts.

Other areas mentioned in our response include:

• access and haulage roads
• environmental mitigation and Biodiversity Net Gain
• construction: soils and drainage.

Read our response in full at: Norwich to Tilbury statutory consultation response

Next steps

As this consultation was the third and statutory public consultation on Norwich to Tilbury, we anticipate National Grid to apply for the DCO (Development Consent Order) at some point in 2025, with it moving for examination in 2025–2026.

More information can be found on National Grid’s page.

Due to the announcement of a general election on 4 July, National Grid has extended its consultation period. The new deadline for responses is 26 July.

This page has been updated to reflect these new deadlines.

National Grid has also altered the dates of some consultation events.

Please check the relevant National Grid project page accordingly.

This statutory consultation will run from 10 April until 18 June 2024.

The consultation presents an opportunity to observe the project’s design evolution and how participant feedback has been integrated into the development plans.

This marks the third public consultation regarding the proposals for Norwich to Tilbury. Termed a statutory consultation, it is conducted in accordance with the formal stipulations of the Planning Act 2008.

This will be the final consultation before National Grid submit their DCO (Development Consent Order) application in 2025.

The NFU will be formally responding to this consultation on behalf of affected members. If you are impacted by the project and want to provide your feedback, please contact your regional office, or fill in our form at the top of this page.

This consultation has now closed.

The NFU’s response to the second consultation goes into more depth over some of the issues we feel were not sufficiently addressed in National Grid’s response to the first consultation. We also held a member meeting in July 2023 in order to allow our members to feed back their concerns into our response.

Therefore, our response reflects the views and concerns brought up by our affected members, as well as exploring in more detail some of the previously raised issues.

In particular, we highlighted the lack of detail provided for a potential offshore route, and the NFU’s preference for a long term vision for an offshore grid which would minimise the onshore disruption for our members.

The response also explores in further detail:

• The preferred draft alignment
• The potential for unergrounding of electric cables
• Pylon locations
• Impact on heritage buildings/listed buildings/historic sites
• Environmental mitigation and Biodiversity Net Gain
• Soils
• Engagement with landowners

NFU members can download the response in full at: National Grid – great grid upgrade: Norwich to Tilbury consultation.

The consultation period will run for eight weeks, concluding on 21 August 2023.

This stage represents the early development phase, and National Grid is seeking feedback on its preferred draft alignment. The alignment showcases potential positions for overhead lines, associated pylons, underground cables, cable sealing end compounds (where overhead lines connect to underground cables), and connection substations.

Constructive feedback from stakeholders and the public will play a vital role in refining and enhancing the project's proposals.

To facilitate the consultation process, National Grid will be conducting online webinars that will provide a comprehensive presentation of the project details, followed by a dedicated question and answer session. The webinar schedule is as follows:

• Saturday 12 August: 10-11am
• Thursday 17 August: 10-11am

For detailed information and access to interactive maps and consultation materials, interested parties are encouraged to visit the National Grid's website at: Nationalgrid.com | Norwich to Tilbury

How can I take part?

Individual landowners and their appointed agents will receive communication regarding the consultation process and will be offered meetings to discuss the proposed draft route alignment. 

For any inquiries or further information, please call the Norwich-Tilbury lands team on: 0808 1753 314 or email at: [email protected]

The NFU strongly encourages all affected farmers affected by the proposed route to actively participate in this consultation.

Your input is crucial in highlighting any concerns you may have regarding pylon locations. Additionally, please ensure that you inform National Grid about any features that could potentially influence pylon placement, such as listed buildings.

The NFU responded to the consultation on behalf of farmers and growers.

Our response highlights issues including the lack of underground and offshore options that have been considered and the need for the project in light of the review currently being undertaken into the offshore transmission network.

Member download: NFU response to National Grid East Anglia Green Energy Enablement (GREEN) Project Consultation

Our response looks at:

• Scheme route
• Requirement for the network reinforcement
• Alternative technologies
• Offshore
• Underground
• Alternative tower types
• Environmental mitigation and biodiversity net gain
• Consultation with landowners
• Impact on agricultural businesses
• Amount of land to be taken for the scheme

Further engagement

We would like to engage further with National Grid on behalf of members that may be affected by the proposed scheme.

We would like to hold a meeting with National Grid once further information is available on the cables being laid underground and the possibility of the cables being offshore.

Next steps

National Grid anticipate launching its statutory consultation in May 2023 before submitting its application for a Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate in December 2024.

Please note that these timescales are indicative and may change as the project develops.

Are you affected? Get in touch.

If you are a member who is affected by the scheme, and have not already done so, please register with your regional office to ensure your interests are represented by the NFU.

This consultation closed on Thursday 16 June.

On 21 April, National Grid launched a non-statutory consultation on East Anglia Green Energy Enablement (GREEN) proposals. 

The consultation ran until Friday 16 June.

You can read about the consultation on the National Grid website. Visit nationalgrid.com.

The East Anglia Green Energy Enablement project (East Anglia GREEN) is being developed by National Grid to reinforce the high voltage power network in East Anglia between the existing substations at Norwich Main in Norfolk, Bramford in Suffolk and Tilbury in Essex.

The project will also connect new offshore wind generation to the grid.

The proposals include building a new 400kV overhead line, and underground cable through the Dedhem Vale AONB, work at existing substations and building a new substation in the Tendring district to connect new proposed offshore wind farms to the electricity transmission network.