Norwich to Tilbury

Targeted consultations  

In August 2025, we submitted our application for a Development Consent Order to build and operate the new Norwich to Tilbury line. It is now being examined by the Planning Inspectorate. Since then, we have continued survey work and conversations with stakeholders.

Through this process, we have identified two locations where we want to make very minor changes to enhance our proposals.

These proposed changes are:  

• Bulphan, change to third-party access and works
• Little Bromley, change to the East Anglia Connection Node substation (EACN) access.  

We are not proposing any other changes to our plans for the rest of the Project.  

Making adjustments like this after an application has been accepted for examination is a normal part of the DCO process. We have notified the Planning Inspectorate of our intention to submit two change applications in spring 2026.  

Before we finalise the plans, we are seeking feedback on the proposed changes from nearby communities.  

We are consulting on the proposed changes described below between 19 January and 23 February 2026 and we welcome your feedback. 

Public information events

We are holding two public events and online webinars to give local residents an opportunity to view our proposals and speak to members of the Project team about the proposed change. 

Bulphan – change to third-party access and works (Change Application 1) 

What we are proposing to change and why  

We are proposing a change to our plans where the overhead line crosses a metallic pipeline west of Langdon Hills Golf Club. This relates only to works on the pipeline and does not affect the route or location of pylons in this area.

The pipeline is part of the national fuel infrastructure and is operated by the British Pipeline Agency Limited (BPA) on behalf of the owner of the pipeline, United Kingdom Oil Pipelines Limited (UKOP). Since we submitted our DCO application, studies have shown that mitigation works are needed to protect the pipeline.

The proposed mitigation work involves installing anti-corrosion earthing strips and adding surface-mounted monitoring equipment units. Temporary construction access as well as temporary working and laydown areas will also be required to complete these works.

This work would usually be carried out by utility companies under their existing permitted development rights. In this case, neither the BPA nor UKOP has these rights, and so we need to include these works within the Norwich to Tilbury proposals.

You can view a before and after map of this change in our consultation leaflet.  

What are the environmental implications of the proposed change? 

The proposed change to the Project would not result in any new or different likely significant effects, or require additional mitigation measures.

For more information, please see the Environmental Implications of Change document (EIC) with location reference ‘Bulphan’, which can be read alongside the information contained here. 

Little Bromley – change to the EACN access (Proposed Change Application 2) 

What we are proposing to change and why  

We are proposing a change to the alignment of the construction access and permanent access routes for the East Anglia Connection Node (EACN) substation.

Our submitted proposals included construction access and permanent access routes south west of Little Bromley, turning off Bentley Road and following field boundaries into the substation. We are now proposing a change in the alignment of these routes within the same fields.  

We expect most of our construction traffic would continue to use the shared access which follows the windfarm export cable corridor between Bentley Road and Ardleigh Road.  

The construction access route shown on the map would only be used if construction traffic could not follow the shared construction route with North Falls and Five Estuaries.

We are also proposing a change to the alignment of the eastern end of the permanent access route. This would reduce effects on agricultural activity. The permanent access route would be used infrequently for abnormal indivisible loads as part of maintenance during operation of the EACN substation and would not be used for the construction of the substation. This route alignment would not be used during the construction of the substation.

You can view a before and after map of this change in our consultation leaflet.  

What are the environmental implications of the proposed change? 

The proposed change to the Project would not result in any new or different likely significant effects, or require additional mitigation measures.

For more information, please see the Environmental Implications of Change document (EIC) with location reference ‘Little Bromley’, which can be read alongside the information contained here. 

Inspection points

You can find paper copies of all our targeted consultation documents at the following inspection points: 

Have your say 

You can provide feedback on these two changes to our proposals by:  

• completing an online feedback questionnaire  
• filling out a paper feedback questionnaire and sending it to FREEPOST N TO T. If you haven’t been sent one, please call us on 0800 915 2497 and we will post one to you
• sending us an email at [email protected]  

If you have previously provided feedback on Norwich to Tilbury, please note that these comments have already been considered. Only comments or feedback relating to the above proposed changes will be considered as part of this consultation.    

Our responses to previous feedback can be found in the Consultation Report included in our DCO application. Other matters that have been raised in relevant representations will be addressed during the examination. You can find our Consultation Report on the Planning Inspectorate’s website at: national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN020027.  

We will review feedback received as we refine our proposals. We will submit a change application and consultation report for each change to the Planning Inspectorate later this year. 

Document Library 

In the library below you can view all the materials we’ve produced for these targeted consultations. Each consultation brochure contains a map and relevant information on the associated change.   

• Targeted Consultation Strategy
• Public notice
• Feedback questionnaire
• Bulphan Consultation Leaflet
• Bulphan - Environmental Implications of Change
• Bulphan – Environmental Constraints Map
• Little Bromley Consultation Leaflet
• Little Bromley – Environmental Implications of Change
• Little Bromley - Environmental Constraints Map
• Event panels