Information for landowners
When developing proposals for network upgrades, we need to understand who has a legal interest in the land in and around the areas being considered as part of the projects.
In the DCO process, anyone with a legal interest in land is known as a Person with an Interest in Land (PIL). If you are identified as a PIL, we will contact you directly.
Whilst much of the information we need to confirm a legal interest on is available on public registers, we have appointed land suppliers Ardent to contact individual landowners to verify the publicly available information and ensure NGET has have made best efforts to identify any potentially impacted landowners. Ardent operates across multiple sectors, providing land and consenting advice to support the promotion and delivery of major projects in the UK and Ireland.
More information regarding National Grid’s land rights and payment schedules, can be found here.
Ardent will also assist with contacting landowners and occupiers to arrange access for non-intrusive and intrusive surveys which we plan to carry out whilst we develop the proposals and prepare the application for a development consent order.
More detailed information for landowners, along with relevant contact information can be found on the landowner page of our project website.
If you are a landowner and believe your property may be affected by our proposals, and want to talk to our lands team, please email [email protected] or call 0203 302 0545 or write to: EGL 3 and EGL 4, Ardent, 36 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JL.
Surveys
To understand more about the local environment, and to inform the environmental impact assessment, we need to carry out surveys. These will be on land within the corridor, on some adjoining land, and areas that may be identified through consultation feedback as potentially sensitive.
These surveys are to assess the landscape, ecology and cultural heritage aspects of the area, to inform further detailed environmental assessments. All survey information gathered has been published either as part of our Preliminary environmental information report or will support our application for a development consent order.
Ongoing surveys
Below is a list of our ongoing and upcoming surveys. If for any reason a survey cannot take place on the scheduled date, such as poor weather conditions, we will endeavour to reschedule the survey in a timely manner.
Access to land plots are agreed before any surveys may take place. If you are a landowner and have questions about the surveys on your land, please email [email protected] or call 0203 302 0545 or write to: EGL 3 and EGL 4, Ardent, 36 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JL.
| Date | Survey | Location | Description |
| January 2026 onwards | Soil Resource Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Surveyor will access land by foot and using a hand auger to take a soil sample. The exact locations within each field will be determined on site by surveyor and will avoid areas such as farm tracks, field edges etc. Soil pits also be dug using a spade to assess topsoil characteristics in representative soil types. All materials exposed will be laid on plastic sheeting for describing the relevant characteristics and then returned to the hole immediately. It is proposed that no auger hole / soil pits are left open for more than 30 minutes and no equipment will be left on site. |
| January 2026 onwards | Ecology UK Hab, PEA walkover surveys | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Undertaken by pairs of surveyors. The survey is an initial assessment of the ecological features present, or potentially present within a specified area. It includes the mapping the habitat types present and recording condition of habitats present. It also assessing the suitability of habitats for protected or priority species and recordings sightings of invasive non-native plant and animal species. |
| January 2026 onwards | Archaeological Trial Trenching | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland | Archaeological trial trenches are excavated using a mechanical excavator in a working area typically 60m long and 10m wide. The trenches are up to 50m long, approximately 2m wide and typically 0.4-0.7m deep. Topsoil is excavated by machine and is typically 0.30-0.40m deep. If subsoil is present this is also removed by machine and is kept separate from topsoil. Typically, trial trenches go to a depth of 0.4-0.7m. If anything of interest is found further investigation may be required. Any archaeology, such as pits, ditches or walls will be investigated by hand tools (mattocks, shovels, trowels) and recorded using GPS survey kits. Trenches are backfilled with the excavated materials in the order in which they were excavated and are compacted by the machine excavator. Plant will typically include 360° tracked excavators that are delivered by low-loaders at agreed locations. Equipment is transported in a 4x4 which will be parked close to the survey area. Welfare vans and welfare trailers are used and may be placed upon track-matting, usually situated by the access to the survey area from the public highway. |
| March 2026 onwards | GCN – eDNA Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | The survey will consist of surveyors collecting water samples from the waterbody for processing in a laboratory to determine the presence / absence of GCN. The samples will be collected on a one-day site visit during the day. |
| April 2026 onwards | Arboriculture Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Walkover surveys to identify quality of trees and identify where their canopies and roots extend. Surveyors will assess each tree subject to a broader arboricultural assessment recording species, Root Protection Areas, canopy coverage, tree condition and health. These surveys will occur in day visits (though visits may take multiple days dependent on the size of the land surveyed and tree cover). |
| May - June 2026 | Groundwater Survey (Engineering) | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Non-intrusive survey to monitor existing standpipe installations. |
| June 2026 | Residual Visual Amenity Assessment (RVAA) Surveys | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | The surveys will consist of site visits by two surveyors to residential properties identified for further assessment. Surveyors will photograph viewing conditions to determine potential visual impacts of the Project. Where access to the properties are unavailable, photography will be undertaken on PRoWs to obtain the necessary viewpoints. |
| June 2026 onwards | Water Vole Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Targeted water vole surveys will include a bankside and in-channel searches. This may include the use of waders and/or boat-based survey. Field signs recorded include the presence of latrines, burrows, runs, footprints, feeding remains, dropping and sightings. If there is uncertainty a further survey may be carried out July – September. |
| June 2026 | Drainage Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Walkover survey to assess the topography of the land, existing land drainage and potential outfall locations for any additional drainage that may be needed during construction. Survey will be undertaken by a small team on foot. This will occur all-year round, across 1-2 days per site, depending on size of the survey area. |
| January to May 2025 | Intrusive Ground Investigations (exploratory holes to include boreholes, trial pits, cone penetration tests, window sampling, dynamic cone penetrometer tests) | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | The purpose of the ground investigation is to gather data on the ground conditions within the project area to inform the design of the various elements of the project. Exploratory holes will be used to collect samples for laboratory testing, carry out in-situ testing e.g. infiltration tests and provide descriptions of the ground profile. Groundwater monitoring standpipes will be installed in selected holes. All works are to be undertaken initially via Permitted Development Rights and in agreement with the Landowners, by an experienced and competent ground investigation contractor and, following completion of the works, land will be restored in accordance with Environment Agency good practice guidance. |
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