Click here to access details of all the arrangements that the Planning Inspectorate has put in place for the examination of the application
Residents may be aware of this proposal which relates to an Offshore Windfarm which is proposed for a location around 30km off the Fylde coast in the Irish Sea. It is proposed that power generated is to be connected to the National Grid via a cable which would land at a site near Blackpool Airport before traveling underground across the borough towards Newton before crossing the river Ribble to a sub-station at Penwortham. There would be two sub-stations between Freckleton/Kirkham/Newton as part of this project.
Due to the scale of the project the decision on this is not a matter for Fylde Council but will instead be decided by the Secretary of State as it is a Nationally Significant Infrastructre Project. The Secretary of State’s decision will follow an examination of the project led by the Planning Inspectorate. With the project being of such a potential importance to the borough this page is designed to give residents access to information about the project.
The scheme is split into three separate elements, with the developer’s webpages available below.
In addition the applicants have published a joint ‘information hub’ to provide details about the project – click here to learn more.
Information about the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process is available here.
The Planning Inspectorate have established a webpage for each project which will be updated with their progress on the assessment of the applications. Residents are able to register for updates on these projects via the links below.
- The Morgan Offshore Generation Assets Project
- The Morecambe Offshore Generation Assets Project
- The Morgan and Morecambe Offshore Windfarm Transmission Assets Project
Fylde Council is a consultee on this matter and has set up a file on its planning register to host the documents that it formally submits as part of the process, with the links to those below.
On Friday 28 March 2025 the Planning Inspectorate published their ‘Rule 6 letter’ which sets out the initial timetable for the hearings into this application. These are to begin on Tuesday 29 April 2025 and are to continue over the following 6 months with a series of topic-based hearings which will conclude in October 2025. The hearing dates are to be held at the Grand Hotel in Blackpool and will also be available via Teams to those who have pre-registered.
