1. This Order may be cited as the Hornsea Four Offshore Wind Farm Order 2023 and comes into force on 3rd August 2023.
Commencement Information
I1Art. 1 in force at 3.8.2023, see art. 1
2.—(1) In this Order—
“the 1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961(1);
“the 1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965(2);
“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980(3);
“the 1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981(4);
“the 1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 1989(5);
“the 1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(6);
“the 1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991(7);
“the 2000 Act” means the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000(8);
“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003(9);
“the 2004 Act” means the Energy Act 2004(10);
“the 2008 Act” means the Planning Act 2008(11);
“the 2009 Act” means the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009(12);
“the 2016 Regulations” means the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016(13):
“access land” has the same meaning as in section 1(1) (principal definitions for Part I) of the 2000 Act;
“access to works plan” means the plan or plans certified as the access to works plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“ancillary works” means the ancillary works described in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (ancillary works) and any other works authorised by this Order and which are not development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“authorised development” means the development and associated development described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (authorised development) and any other development authorised by this Order that is development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“authorised project” means the authorised development and the ancillary works authorised by this Order;
“the book of reference” means the document certified by the Secretary of State as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“box-type gravity base structures” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a square base which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“bridge link” means a steel truss structure with provision for overhead clearance for personnel, lighting fixtures and ancillary cabling, which can be used as a link for interconnection between any combination of permanent offshore electrical installations and/or offshore accommodation platform;
“buoy” means any floating device used for navigational purposes or measurement purposes, including LIDAR and wave buoys;
“cables” means cables for the transmission of electricity, including one or more cable crossings;
“cable circuits” means a number of electrical conductors necessary to transmit electricity between two points within the authorised development; this may comprise, depending on transmission technology, one or more conductors which may be bundled as one cable or take the form of separate cables, and the circuit may include one or more auxiliary cables (normally fibre optic cables) for the purpose of control, monitoring, protection or general communications;
“cable crossings” means a crossing of existing sub-sea cables or pipelines or other existing infrastructure by a cable or, where cables run together in parallel, a set of cables, authorised by this Order together with cable protection;
“cable protection” means physical measures for the protection of cables including but not limited to concrete mattresses, split pipe system, and/or rock placement (including material used for cable crossings);
“carriageway” has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act;
“commence”, means—
in relation to works seaward of MHWS, the first carrying out of any licensed marine activities authorised by the deemed marine licences, save for operations consisting of pre-construction surveys and monitoring approved under the deemed marine licences; or
in respect of any other works comprised in the authorised project, the first carrying out of any material operation (as defined in section 155 of the 2008 Act) forming part of the authorised project other than onshore site preparation works,
and the words “commencement” and “commenced” must be construed accordingly;
“commissioning” means the process of assuring that all systems and components of the authorised development are tested to verify that they function and are operable in accordance with the design objectives, specifications and operational requirements of the undertaker;
“commitments register” means the document certified as the commitments register by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“connection works” means Work Nos. 6 to 10 and any related further associated development in connection with those works;
“deemed marine licences” means the marine licences set out in Schedules 11 (deemed marine licence under the 2009 Act – generation assets) and 12 (deemed marine licence under the 2009 Act – transmission assets);
“” means the Driffield Navigation Trust of 5 New Walk Close, Driffield, East Yorkshire, England, YO25 5LG (Company No. 01468822);
“energy balancing infrastructure” means infrastructure used for the balancing of the output of electrical energy to the national grid;
“environmental statement” means the document certified as the environmental statement by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“gravity base structure” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base which tapers as it rises which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“HAT” means highest astronomical tide;
“highway” and “highway authority” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Act(14)
“Historic England” means the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England;
“horizontal directional drilling” means a trenchless boring technique for installing cables, cable ducts and other associated apparatus involving drilling in an arc between two points;
“HVAC” means high voltage alternating current;
“HVDC” means high voltage direct current;
“independent design review panel” means a panel consisting of one chairperson and up to five members of which at least one member must be a chartered architect and one a chartered landscape professional. The remainder of the panel may be made up of external experts on architecture, landscaping, urban design, engineering or any other built environment profession. The members of the panel to be appointed by the undertaker following approval by the relevant planning authority;
“interconnector cable” means a network of cables between the offshore substations;
“intrusive environmental surveys” means an environmental survey that requires or is facilitated by breaking the surface of the ground or seabed;
“jacket foundation” means a lattice type structure constructed of steel and additional equipment such as, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms attached to the sea bed by means of either a suction bucket or piles;
“joint bay” means an excavation located at regular intervals along the cable route consisting of a concrete flat base slab constructed beneath the ground to facilitate the jointing together of the cables;
“land plans” means the plan or plans certified as the land plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“large offshore HVDC converter substation” means the large version of the offshore converter substations assessed in the environment statement;
“large offshore transformer substation” means the large version of the offshore transformer substations assessed in the environment statement;
“LAT” means lowest astronomical tide;
“lead local flood authority” has the meaning in section 6(7) of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010(15);
“link box” means the underground metal box placed within a plastic or concrete pit where the metal sheaths between adjacent export cable sections are connected and earthed installed within a ground level manhole or inspection chamber to allow access to the link box for regular maintenance or fault-finding purposes;
“logistics compound” means a construction site associated with the connection works including portable offices, welfare facilities, parking and storage for construction of the authorised project;
“maintain” includes inspect, upkeep, repair, adjust, and alter and further includes remove, reconstruct and replace (but only in relation to any of the ancillary works in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (ancillary works)), any cable, any component part of any wind turbine generator, offshore electrical substation, offshore accommodation platform, meteorological mast, and the onshore transmission works described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (authorised development) not including removal, reconstruction or replacement of foundations and buildings associated with the onshore project substation to the extent assessed in the environmental statement and any derivative of maintain must be construed accordingly;
“Marine Management Organisation” or “MMO” means the Marine Management Organisation, Lancaster House, Hampshire Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7YH who is the body created under the 2009 Act and who is responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of the deemed marine licences;
“mean high water springs” or “MHWS” means the highest level which spring tides reach on average over a period of time;
“mean low water springs” or “MLWS” means the lowest level which spring tides reach on average over a period of time;
“monopile foundation” means a steel pile, driven and/or drilled into the seabed and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;
“mono suction bucket foundation” means a steel cylindrical structure which partially or fully penetrates the seabed and remains in place using its own weight and hydrostatic pressure differential, and may include additional equipment such as J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms;
“offshore accommodation platform” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with one or more decks and a helicopter platform (including bird deterrents), containing housing accommodation, storage, workshop, auxiliary equipment, and facilities for operating, maintaining and controlling the wind turbine generators and offshore electrical installations;
“offshore electrical installations” means the small offshore transformer substations, the large offshore transformer substations, the offshore HVAC booster stations, the small offshore HVDC converter substations and the large offshore HVDC converter substations forming part of the authorised development;
“offshore HVAC booster station” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with one or more decks and a helicopter platform (including bird deterrents), containing—
electrical equipment required to provide reactive power compensation; and
housing accommodation, storage, workshop, auxiliary equipment, radar and facilities for operating, maintaining and controlling the substation;
“offshore HVDC converter station” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with equipment to convert the three-phase HVAC power generated at the wind turbine generators into HVDC power;
“the offshore Order limits and grid coordinates plan” means the plan or plans certified by the Secretary of State as the offshore Order limits and grid coordinates plan for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“offshore transformer substation” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with one or more decks and a helicopter platform (including bird deterrents), containing—
electrical equipment required to switch, transform, convert electricity generated at the wind turbine generators to a higher voltage and provide reactive power compensation; and
housing accommodation, storage, workshop auxiliary equipment, radar and facilities for operating, maintaining and controlling the substation or wind turbine generators;
“offshore works” means Work Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and any related further associated development in connection with those works;
“offshore works plans” means the plan or plans certified as the offshore works plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“onshore construction works” means—
temporary haul roads;
vehicular accesses; and
logistics compound(s);
“onshore HVDC/HVAC substation” means a compound, comprising the onshore HVDC converter station or the onshore HVAC substation, including any energy balancing infrastructure and electrical equipment required to switch, transform, convert electricity and provide reactive power compensation, with external landscaping and means of access;
“onshore Order limits plan” means the plans certified by the Secretary of State as the onshore Order limits plan for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“onshore site preparation works” means operations consisting of site clearance, pre-planting of landscaping works, ecological mitigation works, archaeological investigations, intrusive environmental surveys, investigations for the purpose of assessing ground conditions, remedial work in respect of any contamination or other adverse ground conditions, diversion and laying of services, erection of any temporary means of enclosure, creation of site accesses and the temporary display of site notices or advertisements;
“onshore works plans” means the plan or plans certified as the onshore works plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“the Order land” means the land shown on the land plans which is within the limits of land to be acquired or used and described in the book of reference;
“the Order limits” means the limits shown on the offshore Order limits and grid coordinates plan and the onshore Order limits plan within which the authorised project may be carried out, whose grid coordinates seaward of MHWS are set out in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 (authorised development) to this Order;
“outline cable specification and installation plan” means the document certified as the outline cable specification and installation plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline code of construction practice” means the document certified as the outline code of construction practice by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline construction traffic management plan” means Appendix F of the document certified as the outline code of construction practice plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline design plan” means the document certified as the outline design plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline ecological management plan” means the document certified as the outline ecological management plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline employment and skills plan” means the document certified as the outline employment and skills plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline energy balancing infrastructure HazID report” means the document certified as the outline energy balancing infrastructure HazID report by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline enhancement strategy” means the document certified as the outline enhancement strategy by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline landscape management plan” means the document certified as the outline landscape management plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline marine mammal mitigation protocol” means the document certified as the outline marine mammal mitigation protocol by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline marine monitoring plan” means the document certified as the outline marine monitoring plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline marine written scheme of investigation” means the document certified as the outline marine written scheme of investigation by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline net gain strategy” means the document certified as the outline net gain strategy by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline onshore infrastructure drainage strategy” means the document certified as the outline onshore infrastructure drainage strategy by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline southern north sea special area of conservation site integrity plan” means the document certified as the outline southern north sea special area of conservation site integrity plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“outline written scheme of investigation for onshore archaeology” means the document certified as the outline written scheme of investigation for onshore archaeology by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“pin piles” means steel cylindrical piles driven and/or drilled into the seabed to secure jacket foundations;
“pontoon gravity base type 1 structure” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base made up of up to two rectangular pontoons which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“pontoon gravity base type 2 structure” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base made up of a pontoon arranged in a rectangle around an open centre which rests on the seabed due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platform(s) and equipment;
“pro–rata annex” means the document certified as the pro–rata annex by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“public rights of way plan” means the plan or plans certified as the public rights of way plan by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“relevant highway authority” means East Riding of Yorkshire Council, or any successor to it as highway authority for the land in question;
“relevant highway authorities” means East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull City Council, or any successor to them as highway authorities for the land in question;
“relevant planning authority” means East Riding of Yorkshire Council, or any successor to it as planning authority for the land in question;
“requirements” means, or a reference to a numbered requirement is a reference to, those matters set out in Part 3 of Schedule 1 (requirements) to this Order;
“scour protection” means measures to prevent loss of seabed sediment around any structure placed in or on the seabed by use of protective aprons, mattresses, or rock and gravel placement;
“section 106 agreements” means the three agreements made under section 106 of the 1990 Act—
dated 15 November 1990 between (1) The Council of the East Yorkshire Borough of Beverley; (2) Clive Kingston Soames, Margaret Eileen Soames and Andrew Mark Soames and (3) Barclays Bank PLC;
dated 13 July 2007, between (1) Lissett Airfield Wind Farm Limited; (2) James Herbert Tennant; and (3) East Riding of Yorkshire Council; and
dated 7 October 2015, between (1) East Riding of Yorkshire Council; (2) Christopher Branston Foster; (3) Susan Verena Foster; (4) Richard Edward Foster; and (5) National Westminster Bank PLC;
“small offshore HVDC converter substation” means the small version of the offshore transformer substations assessed in the environment statement;
“small offshore transformer substation” means the small version of the offshore transformer substations assessed in the environment statement;
“SNCB” means a statutory nature conservation body, being the appropriate nature conservation body as defined in regulation 5 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017(16) or its equivalent in the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017(17);
“special category land” means the land comprising plots 1, 2, 2A, 3, 3A, 4, 4A, 5, 6 and 6A shown on the land plans and described in the book of reference;
“statutory undertaker” means any person falling within section 127(8) of the 2008 Act and a public communications provider as defined in section 151 of the 2003 Act;
“street” means a street within the meaning of section 48 of the 1991 Act(18), together with land on the verge of a street or between two carriageways, and includes any footpath and any part of a street;
“street authority”, in relation to a street, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 1991 Act(19);
“streets plan” means the plan or plans certified as the streets plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“suction bucket” means a steel cylindrical structure attached to the legs of a jacket foundation which partially or fully penetrates the seabed and remains in place using its own weight and hydrostatic pressure differential;
“transition joint bay” means the underground concrete bays in Work No. 6 where the offshore export cable circuits comprised in Work No. 6 are jointed to the onshore export cable circuits;
“transition piece” means the metal structure attached to the top of the foundation where the base of the wind turbine generator is connected and may include additional equipment such as J-tubes, corrosion protection systems, boat access systems, access platforms, craneage, radar, electrical transmission equipment and associated equipment;
“tree preservation order and hedgerow plan” means the plan or plans certified as the tree preservation order and hedgerow plan or plans by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.);
“undertaker” means, subject to article 5 (benefit of the Order), Orsted Hornsea Project Four Limited (company number 08584182);
“vessel” means every description of vessel, however propelled or moved, and includes a non-displacement craft, a personal watercraft, a seaplane on the surface of the water, a hydrofoil vessel, a hovercraft or any other amphibious vehicle and any other thing constructed or adapted for movement through, in, on or over water and which is at the time in, on or over water;
“water attenuation feature” means an area within which sustainable drainage systems measures are to be adopted to facilitate attenuation and/or storage of surface water drainage;
“wind turbine generator” means a structure comprising a tower, rotor with three blades connected at the hub, nacelle and ancillary electrical and other equipment which may include J-tube(s), transition piece, access and rest platforms, access ladders, boat access systems, corrosion protection systems, fenders and maintenance equipment, helicopter landing facilities and other associated equipment, fixed to a foundation or transition piece; and
“working day” means a day which is not a weekend, bank holiday or public holiday in England.
(2) References in this Order to rights over land include references to rights to do or restrain or to place and maintain, anything in, on or under land or in the air-space above its surface and to any trusts or incidents (including restrictive covenants) to which the land is subject and references in this Order to the imposition of restrictive covenants are references to the creation of rights over the land which interfere with the interests or rights of another and are for the benefit of land which is acquired under this Order or which is an interest otherwise comprised in the Order land.
(3) All distances, directions, capacities, volumes and lengths referred to in this Order are approximate save in respect of the parameters referred to in—
(a)requirements 2 to 5 in Part 3 of Schedule 1 (requirement);
(b)conditions 1 to 3 in Part 2 of Schedule 11 (conditions); and
(c)conditions 1 to 3 in Part 2 of Schedule 12 (conditions).
(4) Any reference in this Order to a work identified by the number of the work is to be construed as a reference to the work of that number authorised by this Order.
(5) The expression “includes” is to be construed without limitation unless the contrary intention appears.
(6) A reference to any statute, order, regulation or similar instrument is construed as a reference to a statute, order, regulation or instrument as amended by any subsequent statute, order, regulation or instrument or as contained in any subsequent re–enactment.
(7) Any reference in this Order or the documents certified by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Order under article 38 (certification of plans and documents, etc.) to a dimension measured from LAT may be converted to a measurement from HAT by subtracting 4.71m from the measurement from LAT.
Commencement Information
I2Art. 2 in force at 3.8.2023, see art. 1
“highway” is defined in section 328(1), “highway authority” is described in section 1. Section 1 was amended by sections 8 and 102 and Schedules 4, paragraph 1 and Schedule 17 to the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), by section 21 of the 1991 Act and by section 1(6) and Schedule 1, paragraphs 1 to 4 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 (c. 7). There are other amendments which are not relevant to this Order.
Section 48 was amended by section 124(2) of the Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26).
“street authority” is defined in section 49, which was amended by paragraph 117 of Schedule 1 to the Infrastructure Act (c. 7).