Latest update
Following the submission of our application for development consent in April 2025, future updates about the Examination of our submitted plans will be available on the Planning Inspectorate's website.
As a result of further technical and survey work, along with continued engagement with stakeholders, we have identified a series of small changes we propose to make to our plans. Despite these proposed amendments, the majority of our plans for Sea Link remain unchanged. In October 2025, we wrote to relevant stakeholder and residents living near to the changes we are proposing. Further details of these changes can be found in our Document Library.
Upcoming Examination hearings
The next set of Examination hearings for Sea Link's application for development consent will be held between Tuesday 24 and Friday 27 March 2026.
Hearing dates and locations
Date/Time
| Hearing
| Location
|
Tuesday 24 March 2026
| Open Floor Hearing 3 (OFH3) | South Gallery Rooms 20-22, Excel London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
|
Wednesday 25 March 2026 (morning)
| Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 2 (CAH2)
| South Gallery Rooms 20-22, Excel London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
|
Wednesday 25 March 2026 (afternoon)
| Issue Specific Hearing 3 (ISH3)
| South Gallery Rooms 20-22, Excel London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
|
Thursday 26 March 2026
| Continuation of Issue Specific Hearing 3 (ISH3)
| South Gallery Rooms 20-22, Excel London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
|
Friday 27 March 2026
| Continuation of Issue Specific Hearing 3 (ISH3)
| South Gallery Rooms 20-22, Excel London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
|
The hearings will be "blended hearings", which means that interested person have the option to attend and participate in person or virtually through Microsoft Teams.
Those wishing to participate and/or observe virtually or in person will need to register in advance with the Planning Inspectorate.
Satellite venues local to the proposed project are also available to allow interested parties to participate or observe the hearings if they are not able to attend in-person or join virtually from home. The addresses for each venue are as follows:
Suffolk
Deben Suite, Ufford Park, Yarmouth Road, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1QW
Kent
Unit 18 (1st Floor), Innovation House, Innovation Way, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, CT13 9FF
For more information, please see the full hearing notice here.
About Sea Link
As the demand for energy increases, the project is designed to deliver renewable and low carbon energy efficiently to homes and businesses across the regions and beyond.
The cable would be predominantly offshore, with new onshore infrastructure to bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network in both Kent and Suffolk.
To bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network, we would need to build new onshore infrastructure including converter stations, substations and new underground and overhead electricity lines, as well as upgrading existing overhead electricity lines.
Power will be able to flow along the Sea Link cables in either direction, depending on where renewable energy is being generated at that time and where in the country power is needed.
National Grid does not yet have permission to build Sea Link. A decision on the development consent order application is expected to be made by mid-2026. More information on the application and next steps is available on the FAQs section of our website.
Why we need to build Sea Link
The existing electricity network in both Kent and Suffolk needs upgrading. This is because the UK’s electricity grid was originally built in the 1960s to connect electricity generated in power stations from fossil fuels, such as coal, from the North and Midlands of England and South Wales.
As the UK moves away from fossil fuels and increases clean energy generation, which is largely offshore, we need to connect electricity in new places.
Demand for electricity is also expected to increase by 50% by 2035, and double by 2050, as we decarbonise the energy that’s used for things like heating and transport.
Therefore, significant new infrastructure is needed to connect this clean energy from where it’s now generated to homes and businesses.
The project programme
2022 - 2024
Pre-application public consultations
March 2025
Submission of application for development consent
2025 - 2026
Examination of application for development consent
Late 2026
Decision expected on application
2026-2031
Construction works (if the project is approved)
Contact the team
If you have any questions or comments about Sea Link, please get in touch by emailing [email protected], by calling 0808 134 9569 or by writing to Freepost SEA LINK.
Sea Link is just one of several electricity network reinforcements that are needed to ensure the electricity transmission network is fit for the future. To read more about he Great Grid Upgrade, please click below.
The Great Grid Upgrade
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