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Refusal of planning consent for the Docking Shoal offshore wind farm: stakeholder perspectives and lessons learned.

Broadbent, Ian D.; Nixon, Caroline L.B.

Authors

Ian D. Broadbent



Abstract

The Docking Shoal project was developed by Centrica as part of The Crown Estate’s Round 2 of UK offshore wind licensing. After 8 years of development, the project was ultimately refused planning consent by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. The current study seeks to explore the factors behind this decision, as well as its impact and legacy for the offshore wind industry from the perspectives of key stakeholders including the project developer, a statutory consultee, and the regulatory body. Key findings are aligned along themes of the consenting process, environmental impacts, views and reactions to the decision, and lessons learned. The study concludes that the Docking Shoal decision centred on issues of impacts upon seabird populations of the Docking Shoal project itself, as well as the potential cumulative impacts of neighbouring offshore wind project developments. The study also reveals that the Docking Shoal project marked a shift in approach by the regulator towards a more holistic and strategic assessment of cumulative impacts, taking into account the combined effects of all foreseeable neighbouring projects in the pipeline. Finally, the paper discusses some of the key issues highlighted by the Docking Shoal project that have continued to impact upon the development and deployment of offshore wind projects.

Citation

BROADBENT, I.D. and NIXON, C.L.B. 2019. Refusal of planning consent for the Docking Shoal offshore wind farm: stakeholder perspectives and lessons learned. Marine policy [online], 110, article ID 103529. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103529

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 9, 2019
Online Publication Date Jun 4, 2019
Publication Date Dec 31, 2019
Deposit Date Jun 17, 2019
Publicly Available Date Dec 5, 2020
Journal Marine policy
Print ISSN 0308-597X
Electronic ISSN 1872-9460
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 110
Article Number 103529
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103529
Keywords Offshore wind; Consenting; Environmental impact assessment; Cumulative impacts
Public URL https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/249308

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