THE GAS ACT 1986 THE ACQUISITION OF LAND ACT 1981 THE COMPULSORY PURCHASE (INQUIRIES PROCEDURE) RULES 2007 THE SOUTHERN GAS NETWORKS PLC (KINGSFERRY GAS PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT) COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 2023

THE GAS ACT 1986 THE ACQUISITION OF LAND ACT 1981 THE COMPULSORY PURCHASE (INQUIRIES PROCEDURE) RULES 2007 THE SOUTHERN GAS NETWORKS PLC (KINGSFERRY GAS PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT) COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 2023

1.Notice is hereby given under rule 11 of the Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2007 (as amended) that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has instructed a Planning Inspectorate Inspector – Christina Downes – to hold a public local inquiry into the Southern Gas Networks Plc (Kingsferry Gas Pipeline Replacement Project) Compulsory Purchase Order 2023 (the Order) at the date, time and place set out below.

2.The inquiry will open at 10:00 on 30 April 2024 and will continue as required on 1 May 2024 and 2 May 2024 at Holiday Inn Sittingbourne, 70 London Road, Sittingbourne ME10 1NT.

3.The Order was made by Southern Gas Networks Plc (SGN) on 12 October 2023 pursuant to section 9 and Schedule 3 of the Gas Act 1986 for the proposed Southern Gas Networks Plc (Kingsferry Gas Pipeline Replacement Project) Compulsory Purchase Order 2023 for the purposes of the Kingsferry Gas Pipeline Replacement Project comprising: (1) the construction and operation of a new gas pipeline under the river Swale between mainland Kent and the Isle of Sheppey and (2) the decommissioning of the existing intermediate gas pipeline suspended beneath the superstructure of the Kingsferry Bridge over the river Swale, and associated works.

4.The Order has been submitted to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for confirmation. If confirmed, the Order would confer powers to compulsorily acquire rights in land, as well as to undertake certain associated works authorised by its gas transport licence under the 1986 Act, all in connection with the construction and operation of a new gas pipeline under the river Swale between mainland Kent and the Isle of Sheppey and the decommissioning of the existing intermediate gas pipeline suspended beneath the superstructure of the Kingsferry Bridge over the river Swale.

5.Information and updates about the inquiry are available on the project website at: https://sgn.co.uk/our-gas-works/major-planned-projects/sittingbourne-kingsferry-bridge

Southern Gas Networks Plc

17 April 2024