North Sea Link

North Sea Link will connect the electricity systems of the two countries via high voltage subsea cables from Kvilldal in Norway to Blyth in the UK and is currently under construction.  We have worked with North Sea Link since 2016 to advise on terrestrial and marine consenting and legislative requirements in the UK. 

This has involved a range of services including securing consents for site investigation works including geophysical surveys and investigations of unexploded ordnance; and securing consent variations for changes to the cable route and revised locations and quantities of rock protection following cable burial.  Our detailed knowledge of the Marine and Coastal Act 2009 and our extensive experience of consents and environmental management during construction of coastal and offshore projects enabled us to quickly and effectively prepare the materials to support variation applications, secure stakeholder acceptance of the proposals and achieve the required variations quickly in order to keep the project schedule on track.

We have also worked closely with the installation contractor in reviewing their documentation to ensure its ultimate compliance with the consent and legislative requirements and secured the expedient discharge of pre-commencement marine licence conditions.  The documentation included the following:

• Marine Pollution Contingency Plan
• Waste Management Plan
• Annex I Habitat Survey Method
• Archaeological Written Scheme of Investigation
• Environmental Management Plan

We have provided awareness training for the construction team and client representatives on offshore consents and legislative requirements to promote compliance and effective management of marine components of the project during construction.  Following this we carried out a site inspection of the landfall site to ensure compliance with the consents and relevant legislation.