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Durham - Proposed Offshore Wind Farm Grid Connection Infrastructure
What is planned?
Section 48 Planning Act 2008
Regulation 4 Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009
The Morven Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection Project
NOTICE PUBLICISING A PROPOSED APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER
Notice is hereby given that Morven Offshore Wind Limited (company number 13792251) (the “Applicant”), of Chertsey Road, Sunbury On Thames, Middlesex, United Kingdom, TW16 7BP, proposes to apply to the Planning Inspectorate under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 for a Development Consent Order (“DCO”) for the Morven Hawthorn Pit Grid Connection Project (the “MHPGC Project”).
The MHPGC Project forms part of the wider Morven Offshore Wind Farm programme and comprises the transmission infrastructure required to export electricity generated by either the Morven North Offshore Wind Array Project (“Morven North”) or the Morven South Offshore Wind Array Project (“Morven South”) to the National Grid transmission network at the Hawthorn Pit Substation in County Durham.
MHPGC Project offshore assets are routed through Scottish and English waters, with landfall and onshore assets entirely in England.
For the assets in Scottish waters, the MHPGC Project will submit marine licence application(s) and an Environmental Statement to the Marine Directorate, Licensing Operations Team. The marine licence application(s) for assets in Scottish waters sits outside of the Planning Act 2008 process and is subject to a separate regulatory process under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
On 5 March 2024, the Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero issued a direction under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 that the MHPGC Project should be treated as development for which development consent is required.
The MHPGC Project assets in English waters and in England constitute an Environmental Impact Assessment development under the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017. The proposed DCO application covers assets in English waters and in England, and is expected to include:
• offshore export cables in English waters;
• cable protection where required;
• a landfall near the town of Seaham, on the County Durham coast;
• transition joint bays;
• underground onshore export cables;
• a new onshore land substation;
• underground connection cables from the new onshore land substation to the existing National Grid Hawthorn Pit Substation;
• temporary construction compounds, accesses and associated works;
• environmental mitigation and biodiversity enhancement measures; and
• other associated development required for the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the MHPGC Project.
Whilst there is no longer a statutory requirement to undertake pre-application consultation or publish a Preliminary Environmental Information Report (“PEIR”), the Applicant has elected to undertake a further round of pre-application consultation between 6 October and 15 November 2026 and publish a PEIR as part of this consultation.
The consultation documents, works plans and maps showing the nature, location, and route of the MHPGC Project, alongside other documents relating to the proposed DCO application, will be available online, free of charge from 6 October 2026 until at least 15 November 2026 on the MHPGC resources page at www.morvenoffshorewind.com/resources.
The views of stakeholders and the community are important to the MHPGC Project. All consultation feedback will be reviewed and will help shape the final proposals to be submitted as part of the proposed DCO application.
Consultation
This consultation will run from 6 October to 15 November 2026. Please provide your feedback by 23:59 on 15 November 2026 to ensure it is considered.
As part of the consultation, we are holding a series of public events. These are an opportunity to meet the team, find out more about the MHPGC Project and ask questions. Events will be held in-person as follows:
| Date and time | Venue |
|---|---|
| Friday 16 October 2026, 15:00 – 19:00 | Hawthorn Community Centre, Seaham, SR7 8SG |
| Saturday 17 October 2026, 10:00 – 15:00 | Seaham Scout Centre, Dow House, South Crescent, Seaham, SR7 7HD |
| Tuesday 3 November 2026, 15:00 – 19:00 | Robin Todd Community Centre, Front Street, South Hetton, DH6 2TH |
| Tuesday 10 November 2026, 15:00 – 19:00 | Glebe Centre, Durham Place, Murton, SR7 9BX |
Information points
Hard copies of the consultation brochure, non-technical summary of the PEIR and feedback form will be available free of charge at the following information points from Tuesday 6 October until Saturday 14 November 2026.
| Information point | Address |
|---|---|
| Seaham Library | St Johns Square, Seaham, SR7 7JE |
| Murton Library | Barnes Road, Murton, Seaham, SR7 9QR |
| Easington Colliery Library | Seaside Lane, Peterlee, Easington Colliery, SR8 3PN |
You can share your feedback in the following ways:
• Online: visit our website and complete our online feedback form: www.morvenoffshorewind.com;
• Email: send your feedback to: info@morvenoffshorewind.com; or
• Post: send a letter or hard copy feedback form (available at events or on request) to our freepost address, Freepost MORVEN (no stamp required).
Contact the team
If you have any questions about the MHPGC Project, including in relation to any of the consultation documents, plans or maps you can contact the team by:
• Phone: 0800 669 6110; or
• Email: info@morvenoffshorewind.com.
Open to feedback
From
6-Oct-2026
To
15-Nov-2026
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