UK ministers have approved a non‑material change to the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm Order 2021. Signed on 18 December 2025 and in force from 19 December, the amendment updates how compensation is delivered where project cables cross the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation. The Order was signed for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero by John Wheadon.

The change introduces an adaptive route for safeguarding sensitive seabed habitats. If the required area of marine debris cannot be fully cleared, the undertaker may seek approval to make a Marine Recovery Fund Payment. The payment would finance strategic compensation through the Government’s Marine Recovery Fund, with sums agreed with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Crucially, the previous stop‑go condition has been deleted: cable installation within the SAC is no longer blocked by a hard threshold of at least 8.3 hectares of debris removal. Debris clearance and other works under the benthic implementation and monitoring plan still apply, but there is now a fallback if evidence shows targets cannot be met in full.

To access the alternative route, the undertaker must apply to the Secretary of State setting out what proportion of seabed impact is shared with the Norfolk Vanguard project along the joint cable corridor and how much material has already been removed. Approval hinges on Defra confirming the Marine Recovery Fund can accept the case and quantifying the sum due.

Once an application is approved, cable installation cannot proceed within the SAC until an implementation and monitoring plan is signed off and the undertaker is discharged from further on‑site compensation duties. Discharge can follow completion of the measures, payment in full, or a contract to pay by instalments after the first instalment is made. Any agreed payment schedule remains binding.

Monitoring tightens under the amendment. Results must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body. If monitoring shows measures are not improving the SAC’s condition, the undertaker must propose fixes and implement them once approved-keeping outcomes measurable rather than simply procedural.

Governance and housekeeping are clarified. The Order now defines Defra within its interpretation article, confirms Norfolk Boreas Limited (Company No. 03722058) as the undertaker, introduces a benthic steering group to shape delivery of the plan, and corrects three coordinate points to keep the consented routeing precise.

The HHW SAC protects dynamic sandbanks and associated seabed life. Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Natural England have long highlighted the site’s sensitivity to seabed disturbance, so time‑limited construction footprints, targeted debris removal and post‑lay recovery tracking can support the return of benthic communities without locking in long‑term damage.

For coastal communities and the regional supply chain, the update reduces the risk of programme slippage caused by a single clearance threshold, while keeping ecological outcomes front and centre. That means steadier timelines for local ports, vessel operators and cable contractors-provided monitoring shows habitats are trending in the right direction.

The Marine Recovery Fund, created by the Energy Act 2023, is designed to pool contributions and deliver strategic compensation across the national site network. In a decade of rapid offshore wind expansion, centralising some habitat investment can concentrate effort where science indicates the biggest gains, while site‑specific monitoring and reporting keep developers accountable.

What developers should do now: refresh the benthic implementation and monitoring plan to reflect the new approval pathway; engage early with Defra on pricing and contracts if a payment route may be needed; publish field data where possible to help stakeholders track recovery; and plan for a completion report within 12 months of finishing BIMP activities.