Mablethorpe Library and Customer Service Centre, Skegness Library, Boston Library & Pinchbeck Community Hub and Library - Public Inspection

NOTICE OF COMPULSORY ACQUISITION UNDER SECTION 134(7) OF THE PLANNING ACT 2008
THE OUTER DOWSING OFFSHORE WIND FARM ORDER 2026
NOTICE OF AUTHORISATION OF COMPULSORY ACQUISITION

The above Order, made under the Planning Act 2008 by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (the “Secretary of State”) and published on 10 February 2026, includes provision authorising the compulsory acquisition of land, existing rights over land, and of rights over land by creating a new right over it as described in Schedule 1 and more particularly described in the Order and in the Book of Reference accompanying the Order.

The Order includes provision authorising the acquisition for the purpose of the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm an offshore wind generating station located approximately 54 km east of the Lincolnshire coastline in the southern North Sea and occupying an area of approximately 436km 2 , together with associated development to connect the generating station to the national grid.

The Order, among other things, licenses and authorises:

Up to 100 offshore wind turbines and their foundations with a maximum tip height of 403m above lowest astronomical tide and a maximum rotor diameter of 340m;
Up to two large or up to four small offshore transformer substations and their foundations within the array area;
Up to one offshore accommodation platform and its foundations;
Up to two offshore HVAC reactive compensation platforms and their foundations within the offshore cable route;
A network of subsea cables connecting the wind turbines, offshore transformer substations and offshore accommodation platform;
Up to four offshore subsea export cable circuits to bring electricity from the offshore transformer substations to landfall, located at Wolla Bank, south of Anderby Creek;
Works at landfall to connect the offshore export cable circuits to the onshore cable circuits, crossing underneath the beach and including transition joint bays;
Up to four underground cable circuits approximately 70 km in length, with joint bays, link boxes and/or earth pits, commencing at the landfall and running in a south westerly direction to an onshore substation at Surfleet Marsh;
A new onshore substation at Surfleet Marsh;
A connection into National Grid infrastructure at Weston Marsh including underground cable circuits with joint bays, link boxes and/or earth pits;
Associated or ancillary works including archaeological and ground investigations, construction compounds, improvements and alterations to highways, verges and private access roads, construction of a temporary haul road, landscaping and drainage works;
Provision of up to two offshore artificial nesting structure(s) as a compensatory measure for potential impacts in respect of special protection area(s);

A copy of the Order as made by the Secretary of State, together with copies of the Secretary of State’s decision letter and the Examining Authority’s report of its recommendations are available to view free of charge on the following project webpage on the National Infrastructure Planning website:

https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010130

Hard copies of the above-mentioned documents have been deposited and will be available for inspection free of charge as set out below.

Venue
Opening hours (may be subject to change)
Mablethorpe Library and Customer Service Centre
Stanley Avenue, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, LN12 1DP
Monday - Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
09:00-17:00
09:00-18:00
09:00-17:00
09:00-13:00
Skegness Library
23 Roman Bank, Skegness, Lincolnshire, PE25 2SA
Monday - Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
09:00-17:00
09:00-18:00
09:00-17:00
09:00-13:00
Boston Library
County Hall, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6DY
Monday – Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
09:00-17:00
09:00-18:00
09:00-17:00
09:00-16:00
Pinchbeck Community Hub and Library
48 Knight Street, Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire, PE11 3RU
Tuesday & Thursday
Wednesday
10:00-13:00
10:00-13:00 and 14:00-16:00

A person aggrieved by the Order may challenge the Order only in accordance with section 118 of the Planning Act 2008, which stipulates that any proceedings must be brought by filing a claim form for judicial review before the end of the period of 6 weeks beginning with the day after the day on which the Order was published (or, if later, the day on which the statement of reasons for making the Order was published).

Once the provision in the Order authorising compulsory acquisition comes into force, GT R4 Limited may acquire any of the land (including any existing rights and/or new rights) described in Schedule 1 below by executing a general vesting declaration under section 4 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981. A statement on the effect of Parts 2 and 3 of that Act is set out in Schedule 2.

Any person who would be entitled to claim compensation if a general vesting declaration were executed is invited to give information about the person’s name, address and interest in land, using the prescribed form to GT R4 Limited at: FREEPOST ODOW (no stamp or further address details needed on the envelope)
Or:

outerdowsing@dalcourmaclaren.com

The prescribed form is set out in Schedule 3.

SCHEDULE 1

DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND, EXISTING RIGHTS AND NEW RIGHTS

The Order land (as defined in Article 2 of the Order) is shown on the land plans (as defined in Article 2 of the Order) and described in the book of reference (as defined in Article 2 of the Order). This notice relates to so much of the Order land as is shown on the land plans shaded pink (freehold), shaded blue (permanent rights) and shaded yellow (temporary rights) (the land subject to powers of compulsory acquisition).

A summary description of the Order land is set out below:

The Outer Dowsing offshore export cables will make landfall at Wolla Bank, south of Anderby creek. The offshore export cables will be jointed to the onshore export cables in the transmission joint bays. Running in a south westerly direction, the onshore export cables will then connect to an onshore substation at Surfleet Marsh, Spalding and then onshore 400 kV cables will connect the onshore substation to the National Grid owned 400 kV substation at Weston Marsh, Spalding to allow the power to be transferred to the National Grid. Under the powers granted in the Order, GT R4 Limited may acquire compulsorily:

a) so much of the Order land as is specified by Article 18 (compulsory acquisition of land) of the Order for the authorised project (as defined in Article 2 of the Order), or to facilitate it, or as is incidental to it; and
b) such rights over the Order land, by creating them as well as by acquiring rights already in existence, and impose restrictions affecting part of the Order land, as is authorised by Article 20 (compulsory acquisition of rights) of the Order.

The purpose for which new rights may be acquired and restrictions may be imposed (and the plots of the Order land over which said rights and restrictions can be imposed) is described in Schedule 7 to the Order and includes:

a) Rights to install cables by way of directional drilling or other trenchless techniques, or by digging trenches;
b) Rights to retain and use the cables and jointing installations for the purposes of the transmission of electricity and telecommunications;
c) Rights to benefit from continuous vertical and lateral support for the cables, jointing installations, pipes, cables, conduits, service media and apparatus;
d) Rights to enter onto, pass and repass and remain on the land with or without all necessary plant, vehicles, machinery, materials, drilling fluids, apparatus, temporary structures and equipment;
e) Rights to carry out terrestrial work activities;
f) Rights to access adjoining land and highway (including use of the existing or any replacement bridge);
g) Rights to place and use plant, vehicles, machinery, materials, drilling fluids, apparatus, equipment and temporary structures on and within the land;
h) Rights to remove and discharge water from the land;
i) Rights to remove, store and stockpile materials (including excavated material) within the land;
j) Rights to retain, maintain, straighten, widen, repair, alter, upgrade and use existing access routes for the purposes of accessing the land, adjoining land and highway;
k) Rights to erect temporary signage and provide measures for the benefit of public and personnel safety;
l) Rights to fell, prune, cut, coppice, alter, lop, uproot and replant trees, shrubs and hedges, and remove roots of trees, shrubs and hedges;
m) Rights to install, execute, implement, retain, repair, improve, renew, remove, relocate and plant trees, woodland, shrubs, hedgerows, seeding and other ecological measures together with the right to maintain, inspect and replant such trees, shrubs and landscaping;
n) Rights to install, execute, implement, retain, repair, improve, renew, relocate, maintain and carry out mitigation, maintenance, remediation and/or enhancement works;
o) Rights to lay down, construct, install, retain, adjust, alter, test, use, maintain, repair, renew, upgrade, inspect, survey, cleanse, re-lay, connect into, divert, protect, make safe, make incapable of operation, replace and remove:

i. pipes, cables, conduits, service media or apparatus that are used for the purposes of transmitting and distributing electricity, communications, gas, oil, water supply, sewerage and drainage (including pipes, cables, conduits, service media or apparatus of statutory undertakers);
ii. cable marker posts;
iii. temporary access roads, hard standing and other surface materials;
iv. public and private drains, watercourses, sewers, ponds or culverts, and to drain into and manage waterflows in any public and private drains, watercourses, sewers, ponds or culverts;
v. supporting or protective structures (including the bridging over of or protection of the apparatus of the statutory undertakers);
vi. temporary haul roads;
vii. temporary welfare facilities;
viii. fencing, gates, walls, barriers or other means of enclosure;
ix. temporary barriers for the protection of fauna;
x. temporary noise alleviation measures; and
xi. temporary paths and bridleways for public use.

p) Rights to remove archaeological artefacts where they would prevent or cause it to be materially more difficult to undertake terrestrial work activities or where leaving such archaeological artefacts in situ would materially increase the cost of the terrestrial work activities;
q) Rights to remove fences, hedges, gates or other barriers during any period during which terrestrial work activities are being undertaken (subject to the prior erection of any temporary stock proof fencing as is reasonably required) and the replacement, replanting or re- instatement of fences, hedges or other barriers;
r) Rights to carry out surveys including for site investigation and environmental surveys, making of boreholes, trial pits and archaeological trenches and field stripping, auger hole sampling and the taking of soil and other samples;
s) Rights to access the land temporarily (and during the construction phase of the authorised project only) with or without vehicles and machinery so as to remove materials (arising as a result of works to install the cables) from the land;
t) Rights to access the land temporarily with or without vehicles and machinery to carry out surveys including for site investigation and environmental surveys, making of boreholes, trial pits and archaeological trenches and field stripping, auger hole sampling and the taking of soil and other samples;
u) Rights to construct, install, retain, adjust, alter, test, use, maintain, repair, renew, upgrade, inspect, survey, cleanse, protect, make safe, replace and remove the bridge and supporting structures on or over or in the land; and
v) Imposition of restrictions as is necessary in order to prevent the obstruction, interruption or interference of the exercise of the rights.