The Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm Order 2020

Pre-construction plans and documentation E+W

14.—(1) The licensed activities or any phase of those activities must not commence until the following (as relevant to that phase) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the MMO in consultation with Trinity House and the MCA—

(a) a design plan at a scale of between 1:25,000 and 1:50,000, including detailed representation on the most suitably scaled admiralty chart, to be agreed in writing with the MMO which shows, in accordance with the Development Principles—

(i) the proposed location, including grid co-ordinates of the centre point of the proposed location for each offshore electrical installation, subject to any micro-siting required due to anthropological constraints, environmental constraints or difficult ground conditions and choice of foundation of all offshore electrical installations;

(ii) the height, length and width of all offshore electrical installations;

(iii) the length and arrangement of all cables comprised in Work Nos. 2, 3, and 5;

(iv) the dimensions of all monopile foundations, mono suction bucket foundations, jacket foundations, gravity base foundations, box-type gravity base foundations, pontoon gravity base 1 foundations and pontoon gravity base 2 foundations;

(v) the proposed layout of all offshore electrical installations including any exclusion zones identified under sub-paragraph 14(2)(d); and

(vi) any exclusion zones or micrositing requirements identified in any mitigation scheme pursuant to sub-paragraph 14(2)(d) or relating to any Annex I reefs identified as part of surveys undertaken in accordance with condition 18,

to ensure conformity with the description of Work Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and compliance with conditions 1 to 3 above;

(b) a construction programme to include details of—

(i) the proposed construction start date;

(ii) proposed timings for mobilisation of plant delivery of materials and installation works; and

(iii) an indicative written construction programme for all offshore electrical installations and electrical circuits comprised in the works at paragraph 2(f) of Part 1 (licenced marine activities) of this Schedule (insofar as not shown in paragraph (ii) above);

unless otherwise agreed in writing with the MMO;

(c) a construction method statement in accordance with the construction methods assessed in the environmental statement and including details of—

(i) foundation installation methodology, including drilling methods and disposal of drill arisings and material extracted during seabed preparation for foundation works and having regard to any mitigation scheme pursuant to sub-paragraph 14(1)(f);

(ii) advisory safe passing distances for vessels around construction sites;

(iii) cable installation;

(iv) contractors;

(v) vessels and vessels transit corridors;

(vi) codes of conduct for vessel operators;

(vii) associated ancillary works;

(viii) guard vessels to be employed; and

(ix) details of means to avoid impacts on European sites;

(d) a project management plan and monitoring plan covering the period of construction and operation to include details of—

(i) a marine pollution contingency plan to address the risks, methods and procedures to deal with any spills and collision incidents of the authorised project in relation to all activities carried out;

(ii) a chemical risk assessment to include information regarding how and when chemicals are to be used, stored and transported in accordance with recognised best practice guidance;

(iii) a biosecurity plan detailing how the risk of introduction and spread of invasive non-native species will be minimised;

(iv) waste management and disposal arrangements;

(v) a code of conduct for vessel operators;

(vi) the appointment and responsibilities of a fisheries liaison officer; and

(vii) all spatial data for archaeological exclusion zones and application of a protocol for archaeological discoveries;

(e) a scour protection management plan providing details of the need, type, sources, quantity and installation methods for scour protection, which plan must be updated and resubmitted for approval if changes to it are proposed following cable laying operations;

(f) proposed pre-construction surveys, construction monitoring, post-construction monitoring and related reporting in accordance with conditions 18, 19 and 20;

(g) in the event that driven or part-driven pile foundations are proposed to be used, a marine mammal mitigation protocol, the intention of which is to prevent injury to marine mammals, including details of soft start procedures with specified duration periods following current best practice as advised by the relevant statutory nature conservation bodies;

(h) a cable specification and installation plan, to include—

(i) technical specification of offshore cables below MHWS, including a desk-based assessment of attenuation of electro-magnetic field strengths, shielding and cable burial depth in accordance with industry good practice;

(ii) a sandwave clearance plan for all designated sites affected, including details of the volumes of material to be dredged, timing of works, locations for disposal and monitoring proposals;

(iii) a detailed cable laying plan for the Order limits, incorporating a burial risk assessment encompassing the identification of any cable protection that exceeds 5% of navigable depth referenced to Chart Datum and, in the event that any area of cable protection exceeding 5% of navigable depth is identified, details of any steps (to be determined following consultation with the MCA and Trinity House) to be taken to ensure existing and future safe navigation is not compromised or similar such assessment to ascertain suitable burial depths and cable laying techniques, including cable protection;

(iv) a cable protection plan for all designated sites where cable protection is required, including details of the volumes, material, locations and seabed footprints for cable protection measures, where required, consideration of alternative methods of protection and monitoring proposals and provision for review and update of the plan for a period of 15 years from the date of the grant of the Order;

(v) proposals for the volume and areas of cable protection to be used for each cable crossing; and

(vi) proposals for monitoring offshore cables including cable protection during the operational lifetime of the authorised project which includes a risk based approach to the management of unburied or shallow buried cables, and, where necessary, details of micrositing through any European Site;

(i) an offshore operations and maintenance plan, to be submitted to the MMO at least four months prior to commencement of operation of the licensed activities and to provide for review and resubmission every three years during the operational phase; and

(j) an aid to navigation management plan to be agreed in writing by the MMO following consultation with Trinity House, to include details of how the undertaker will comply with the provisions of condition 8 for the lifetime of the authorised project.

(2) The licensed activities or any part of those activities must not commence unless no later than six months prior to the commencement a written scheme of archaeological investigation has been submitted to and approved by the MMO, in accordance with the outline offshore written scheme of investigation, and in accordance with industry good practice, in consultation with the statutory historic body to include—

(a) details of responsibilities of the undertaker, archaeological consultant and contractor;

(b) a methodology for further site investigation including any specifications for geophysical, geotechnical and diver or remotely operated vehicle investigations;

(c) archaeological analysis of survey data, and timetable for reporting, which is to be submitted to the MMO within six months of any survey being completed;

(d) delivery of any mitigation including, where necessary, identification and modification of archaeological exclusion zones prior to construction;

(e) monitoring of archaeological exclusion zones during and post construction;

(f) a requirement for the undertaker to ensure that a copy of any agreed archaeological report is deposited with the National Record of the Historic Environment, by submitting a Historic England OASIS (‘Online AccesS to the Index of archaeological investigationS’) form with a digital copy of the report within six months of completion of construction of the authorised project, and to notify the MMO (and North Norfolk District Council where the report relates to the intertidal area) that the OASIS form has been submitted to the National Record of the Historic Environment within two weeks of submission;

(g) a reporting and recording protocol, including reporting of any wreck or wreck material during construction, operation and decommissioning of the authorised project;

(h) implementation of the Offshore Renewables Protocol for Reporting Archaeological Discoveries as set out by The Crown Estate; and

(i) a timetable for all further site investigations, which must allow sufficient opportunity to establish a full understanding of the historic environment within the offshore Order limits and the approval of any necessary mitigation required as a result of the further site investigations prior to commencement of licensed activities.

(3) Pre-construction archaeological investigations and pre-commencement material operations which involve intrusive seabed works must only take place in accordance with a specific outline written scheme of investigation (which must accord with the details set out in the outline offshore written scheme of investigation) which has been submitted to and approved by the MMO.

(4) The licensed activities or any part of those activities must not commence until a fisheries coexistence and liaison plan in accordance with the outline fisheries coexistence and liaison plan has been submitted to and approved by the MMO.

(5) In the event that driven or part-driven pile foundations are proposed to be used, the licenced activities, or any phase of those activities must not commence until a site integrity plan which accords with the principles set out in the in principle Hornsea Three Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation Site Integrity Plan has been submitted to the MMO and the MMO is satisfied that the plan provides such mitigation as is necessary to avoid adversely affecting the integrity (within the meaning of the 2017 Regulations) of a relevant site, to the extent that harbour porpoise are a protected feature of that site.

(6) In the event that driven or part-driven pile foundations are proposed to be used, the hammer energy used to drive or part-drive the pile foundations must not exceed 5,000kJ.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 12 Pt. 2 para. 14 in force at 22.1.2021, see art. 1