North Falls

A proposed new offshore wind farm, to extend the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, consisting of up to 57 turbines.

North Falls is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) developed by Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE) and RWE, to construct an Offshore Wind Farm consisting of 57 turbines located 40km from the 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 (SSE/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 during October and December 2022.

    A Statutory Consultation was undertaken during May to July 2023.

    Further, a Targeted Consultation was undertaken during March to April 2024.

  2. The application for Development Consent was submitted on 22 July 2024. The Planning Inspectorate accepted the application for Examination on 22 August 2024.

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

  3. Occurring between 23 August 2024 and 27 January 2025, 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 28 January 2025 and closed on 28 July 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 28 October 2025.

Supporting Documents

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

Contact SSE/RWE

Find out more about the proposals on SSE/RWE's North Falls project website.