East Suffolk Council
Sea Link
Sea Link is a new proposed high voltage undersea electricity link between Suffolk and Kent being developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission.
National Grid has stated that the Sea Link project is required to add greater capacity to the electricity transmission network, allowing anticipated renewable energy, generated offshore, to connect to the network and be transported around the country. The proposal includes on shore underground cabling, a substation at Friston and a converter station at Saxmundham.
The Secretary of State has exercised powers under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 to direct that the Sea Link project be treated as development for which development consent is required and the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime is applicable. The developer will as a result be required to apply for development consent where the final decision whether to give permission will be made by the relevant Secretary of State through the granting of a Development Consent Order.
- Direction by Secretary of State under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 relating to Sea Link
- Secretary of State’s decision letter
East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council wrote jointly to National Grid PLC to seek coordination of the Sea Link project with the other potentially forthcoming projects.
In February 2025, East Suffolk Council wrote to the Chair and Chief Executive of National Grid to highlight ESC’s concerns about the Sea Link project ahead of the project’s planned submission to the Planning Inspectorate in Q1 2025, and to urge NGET to engage constructively with East Suffolk Council to place the project in better stead for formal submission to the Planning Inspectorate.
Consultations
Scoping Report – October to November 2022
- The Planning Inspectorate consulted on the Scoping Report submitted by National Grid for the Sea Link project providing stakeholders 28 days for comments.
- East Suffolk Council’s response to the Scoping Report consultation
Non-statutory consultation – October to December 2022
- National Grid’s non-statutory consultation on the Sea Link project ran between 24 October and 18 December 2022.
- East Suffolk Council’s response to the initial consultation on the Sea Link project
Statutory consultation – October to December 2023
On 24 October 2023, National Grid published a statutory consultation on its proposals. The deadline for sending National Grid comments was Monday 18 December 2023. The consultation documents can still be viewed via the link below:
More information about Sea Link from the National Grid website
East Suffolk Council’s response to the October 2023 consultation was issued on 18th December 2023 and was ratified by Cabinet on 2nd January 2024. Please see Agenda Item 11 Item. A copy of the response is also available below separately from the Cabinet papers.
Additional Consultation – July to August 2024
NGET held additional consultation on the Sea Link project from 8 July – 11 August 2024, focused on the changes to the project proposals since statutory consultation was held in late 2023.
Local engagement and project update (November 2024) – January 2025
NGET published a project update in November 2024, presenting a number of further amendments to the design, reflecting feedback received during both rounds of consultation as well as from ongoing assessment work. NGET stated these further amendments to the proposed development are not material or substantial changes to the proposed application. They do not materially change the effects or fundamentally change the project as a whole.
The consultation documents can be viewed via the link below: