The government has approved a non‑material change to the Norfolk Boreas Development Consent Order, made on 18 December 2025 and in force from 19 December 2025. The amendment updates how the project must compensate for impacts inside the Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton Special Area of Conservation, adds formal monitoring duties, and aligns the consent with the Marine Recovery Fund framework now in operation.

In practice, Schedule 19 is reworked. A pre‑commencement clause linked to clearing an 8.3‑hectare area of marine debris in the SAC is removed, and the undertaker may instead apply to make a Marine Recovery Fund payment for any shortfall-subject to the Secretary of State’s approval and Defra confirming that the Fund can be used and pricing the obligation. Monitoring results must be submitted at least annually to the Secretary of State, the Marine Management Organisation and the relevant statutory nature conservation body, with remedial steps implemented where measures underperform.

The order also tidies definitions and project details, including adding a definition for Defra and confirming Norfolk Boreas Limited (Company No. 03722058) as the undertaker. That corporate entity now sits within RWE’s Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone portfolio following the 2024 acquisition.

Why the SAC matters is clear. JNCC describes Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton as a 1,467.59 km² protected site off the Norfolk coast, designated for sandbanks slightly covered by seawater and for reef habitats, including Sabellaria spinulosa. These features are sensitive to seabed disturbance and cable protection.

The Marine Recovery Fund is a statutory route created under section 292 of the Energy Act 2023 and brought into effect by the Marine Recovery Funds Regulations 2025, which commenced on 17 December 2025. It allows payments in respect of offshore wind activities to finance strategic measures that compensate for unavoidable adverse effects on protected features. Defra’s live library sets out which compensatory measures can be delivered directly or via the Fund.

Policy aims here are pragmatic. Defra’s consultation attracted 43 responses, with government positioning the Fund to streamline consenting while maintaining environmental protection. Ministers told Parliament the approach could remove barriers to up to 16 GW of offshore wind once strategic compensation is in place.

Project context matters for delivery. RWE completed the purchase of the 4.2 GW Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone-Boreas plus Vanguard East and West-in March 2024, projecting power for more than four million UK homes. The MMO also confirmed a set of DML variations in 2025, signalling active portfolio management ahead of construction.

For nature outcomes, evidence points to both risks and opportunities. The European Environment Agency notes that offshore wind infrastructure can disturb habitats but may also create new ones, with S. spinulosa sometimes colonising hard surfaces. OSPAR’s 2023 assessment finds cable impacts are typically local to the corridor and often temporary, though some longer‑term effects and electromagnetic field interactions remain uncertain-underscoring the value of robust monitoring.

What good looks like from here is transparent, repeatable monitoring and adaptive fixes. Annual reports should map reef and sandbank conditions along the cable corridor, set clear thresholds for action if recovery stalls, and publish datasets so fishing groups, scientists and regulators can ground discussions in shared evidence. The new order’s requirement to propose and implement remedies if measures underperform makes that approach non‑negotiable.

For communities and supply‑chain partners, this is a workable middle course: the project keeps moving, and the marine environment gets funded, strategic compensation plus stronger reporting. With the Marine Recovery Fund now live and the Norfolk Boreas consent updated, the test is simple-deliver measurable habitat gains and show the data. We’ll track how the payment route is priced and which compensatory measures Defra deploys first.