Five Estuaries

A proposed new offshore wind farm, to extend the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm, consisting of up to 79 turbines.

Five Estuaries is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) developed by RWE, to construct an Offshore Wind Farm consisting of 79 turbines located 37km from the Suffolk coast at its nearest point.

The scheme will make landfall between Frinton and Holland-on-Sea in Tendring, Essex, the scheme will connect to the National Grid substation in Ardleigh, connecting to the Norwich to Tilbury project. 

Further information can be found on the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) and Applicant's (RWE) websites.

Current stage within the NSIP Process

The Planning Act 2008 sets out seven stages for NSIPs. The project has progressed through these as seen below.

  1. The Applicant produced a Screening, Scoping, Non-Statutory Consultation, Statement of Community Consultation, and Statutory Consultation.

    A Non-statutory Consultation was undertaken June to September during 2022.

    A Statutory Consultation was undertaken during March to May 2023.

    Further, a Targeted Consultation was undertaken during December 2023 to January 2024.

  2. The application for Development Consent was submitted on 25 March 2024. The Planning Inspectorate accepted the application for Examination on 22 April 2024.

    The Council was approached by the Planning Inspectorate in regard to the Adequacy of Consultation, prior to acceptance.

  3. Occurring between 23 April 2024 and 16 September 2024, all interested parties were requested to submit Relevant Representations.

  4. Following the close of the Preliminary Meeting, the Planning Inspectorate examined the proposals for a period of 6 months. The Examination opened on 17 September 2024 and closed on 17 March 2025.

    The Council submitted a Joint Local Impact Report at Deadline 1 and various other documents which can be found on the Planning Inspectorate project webpage.

  5. Following the close of the Examination, the Examining Authority submitted their recommendation to the Secretary of State on 17 June 2025.

  6. The Secretary of State was due to determine the application on 17 September 2025. 

    Three consultations have taken place during this period, which can be found on the Planning Inspectorate website. 

Supporting Documents

During the pre-application and examination phases, Suffolk County Council submitted representations in response to the proposals.

Contact RWE

Find out more about the proposals on RWE's Five Estuaries project website.