Regulatory Other

The Planning Inspectorate's six-month examination of National Grid Electricity Transmission's Sea Link Development Consent Order application closed on 5 May 2026. The Examining Authority (ExA) heard evidence across multiple Issue-Specific Hearings, Open Floor Hearings and Compulsory Acquisition Hearings between November 2025 and April 2026 (Preliminary Hearing held 5 November 2025; three further hearing rounds through to March 2026). The examination considered hundreds of representations from Thanet residents, Kent Wildlife Trust, Save Minster Marshes, Suffolk Energy Action Solutions, statutory consultees and other interested parties, covering need case, route selection, landfall impacts at Pegwell Bay (Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve) and Aldeburgh (RSPB North Warren), proposed onshore converter station and substation works at Minster marshes and Friston, environmental and ornithological effects, traffic, archaeology (including a newly identified Neolithic henge that drove route adjustment), and HDD trenchless crossing assessments. The ExA must now write its recommendation report and submit it to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero within three months — by approximately 5 August 2026. The final DCO decision is currently expected no later than November 2026 (per Ofgem November 2025 ECF Decision). Closure of examination marks the transition from the regulatory examination phase to the recommendation and decision phase, and is a key milestone in the project moving from early development to construction-ready status.