Ørsted’s Hornsea Three offshore wind farm is planning a series of works along the onshore cable route to help address any potential flood risk from the project.
 
The cables will pass through the Reepham district in a 55-kilometre-long trench from Weybourne on the north Norfolk coast to a new substation at Swardeston, south of Norwich.
 
The pre-construction drainage schemes are outlined in a series of planning applications submitted to Broadland District Council.
 
Areas where drainage pipes could be placed include land at or near:

• Blackwater Lane, Heydon
• Heydon Lane, Heydon
• Crabgate Lane, Wood Dalling
• Booton Manor, Church Road, Booton
• The Grove, Booton
• The Moor, Reepham
• Reepham Road, Salle
   

The Danish energy group said the installation of the pre-construction drainage is designed to bypass the existing drainage system to enable excavations while maintaining field drainage.
 
Although Ørsted has been granted permission for the offshore wind farm and cable route, the drainage plans are outside the limits of that consent and require new planning applications.
 
Reepham Town Council has objected to planning application 2023/1317 concerning the installation of pre-construction field drainage on land south and north of The Moor owing to its proximity to Booton Common. The council expressed concerns that the work could damage this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
 
The Hornsea Three project was granted planning consent by the Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 31 December 2020.
 
The wind farm will include around 230 offshore wind turbines and be capable of generating at least 2.85 GW of electricity, enough to meet the average daily needs of more than three million homes, making it is one of the world’s biggest offshore wind farm projects.
 
See our earlier story:

• Update on wind farm traffic management plans for Cawston