Article 2 InterpretationI1
England and Wales
Except for Schedule 14 (deemed marine licence), which is subject to the definitions in that Schedule, in this Order–
“1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961f1;
“1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965f2;
“1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980f3;
“1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981f4;
“1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 1989f5;
“1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990f6;
“1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991f7;
“2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003f8;
“2004 Act” means the Energy Act 2004f9;
“2008 Act” means the Planning Act 2008f10;
“2009 Act” means the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009f11;
“ancillary works” means the ancillary works described in Part 2 (ancillary works) of Schedule 1 and any other works authorised by this Order that are not development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“apparatus” has the same meaning as in section 105(1) of the 1991 Act;
“authorised development” means the development and associated development described in Part 1 (authorised development) of Schedule 1 and any other development authorised by this Order that is development within the meaning of section 32 of the 2008 Act;
“authorised project” means the authorised development and the ancillary works;
“bank holiday” means a bank holiday in England and Wales under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971f12;
“book of reference” means the document certified as the book of reference by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“building” includes any structure or erection or any part of a building, structure or erection;
“buoy” means any floating device used for navigational purposes or measurement purposes, including wave buoys, LiDAR and guard buoys;
“business day” means Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays and other public holidays;
“cable” means cables up to 400kV for the transmission of electricity and includes direct lay cables, cables laid in cable ducts or protective covers, and further includes fibre optic and other communications cables either within the cable or laid alongside;
“cable circuits” means a number of electrical conductors necessary to transmit electricity between two points within the authorised development comprising up to three electrical conductors, which may be attached together or take the form of single cables, and in either case the circuit may include one or more auxiliary cables for the purpose of control, monitoring, protection or general communications;
“cable crossings” means the crossing of existing cables and sub-sea cables, pipelines or other existing infrastructure by the cables authorised by this Order together with cable protection;
“cable ducts” means conduits for the installation of cables;
“cable protection” means measures to protect cables from physical damage including but not limited to concrete mattresses, with or without frond devices, and/or rock placement, the use of bagged solutions filled with grout or other materials;
“carriageway” has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act;
“commence” means
- (a)
for the purposes of the requirements, the first carrying out of any activities in relation to the offshore works, save for non-intrusive pre-construction surveys, unexploded ordnance surveys and low order unexploded ordnance clearance;
- (b)
for any other purposes, the first carrying out of any material operation (as defined in section 155 of the 2008 Act) forming part of the authorised project except for onshore site preparation works,
and the words “commenced” and “commencement” must be construed accordingly;
- (a)
“commercial operation” means in relation to any part of the authorised project, the exportation, transmission or conversion, on a commercial basis, of electricity;
“commissioning” means the process of assuring that all systems and components of the authorised development are tested to verify that they function and are operable in accordance with the design objectives, specifications and operational requirements of the undertaker;
“deemed marine licence” means the marine licence set out in Schedule 14 (Marine Licence ORML2429G: Mona Offshore Wind Farm Generation Assets);
“design principles” means the document certified as the design principles by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“electronic transmission” means a communication transmitted—
- (a)
by means of an electronic communications network; or
- (b)
by other means but while in electronic form;
- (a)
“environmental statement” means the document certified as the environmental statement by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order including the documents listed in Table 6 of Schedule 15;
“foundation” means any one or more of: a multi-leg pin piled jacket foundation, multi-leg suction bucket jacket foundation, or gravity base foundation;
“F1gravity base foundation” means a structure principally of steel, concrete, or steel and concrete with a base which rests on the seabed either due to its own weight with or without added ballast or additional skirts and associated equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;
“greenhouse gas reduction strategy” means the document certified as the greenhouse gas reduction strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“highway” and “highway authority” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Actf13;
“HVAC” means high voltage alternating current;
“inter-array cables” means the cables linking the wind turbine generators to each other and to the offshore substation platforms;
“interconnector cables” means the cables linking the offshore substation platforms to each other;
“jacket foundation” means a steel jacket/lattice-type structure constructed principally of steel, fixed to the seabed with steel pin piles or steel suction buckets and associated equipment including scour protection, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;
“joint bay” means an excavation formed to enable the jointing of the cables;
“jointing” means a process by which two or more cables are connected to each other by means of cable joints within a joint bay;
“LAT” means lowest astronomical tide;
“land plan (onshore)” means the document certified as the land plan (onshore) by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“landscape enhancement scheme principles” means the document certified as the landscape enhancement scheme principles by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“LiDAR” means a light detection and ranging system used to measure weather and sea conditions;
“location plan” means the document certified as the location plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“maintain” includes works to:
- (a)
inspect, upkeep, repair, adjust or alter the authorised project;
- (b)
remove, reconstruct or replace any part of the offshore works in accordance with condition 10, Part 2 of Schedule 14; and
- (c)
remove, reconstruct or replace any part of the onshore works (excluding removal, reconstruction or replacement of whole buildings associated with the onshore substation),
provided that such works do not give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects to those identified in the environmental statement; and any derivative of “maintain” is to be construed accordingly;
- (a)
“MCA” means the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the executive agency of the Department for Transport;
“mean high water springs” or “MHWS” means the highest level which F2spring tides reach on average over a period of time;
“mean low water springs” or “MLWS” means the lowest level that spring tides reach on average over a period of time;
“measures to minimise disturbance to marine mammals and rafting birds from transiting vessels” means the document certified as the measures to minimise disturbance to marine mammals and rafting birds from transiting vessels by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“National Grid Substation” means the substation at Bodelwyddan which is owned and operated by National Grid;
“NRW” means Natural Resources Body for Wales or any successor body to its functions;
“offshore in-principle monitoring plan” means the document certified as the offshore in-principle monitoring plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“offshore order limits and grid coordinates plan” means the document certified as the offshore order limits and grid coordinates plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“offshore substation platform” means a structure above LAT and attached to the seabed by means of a foundation, with one or more decks and open with modular equipment or fully clad, containing—
- (a)
electrical equipment required to switch, transform or convert electricity generated at the wind turbine generators to a higher voltage and provide reactive power compensation, including high voltage power transformers, high voltage switchgear and busbars, substation auxiliary systems and low voltage distribution, instrumentation, metering equipment and control systems, standby generators, shunt reactors, auxiliary and uninterruptible power supply systems;
- (b)
accommodation, storage, workshop auxiliary equipment and facilities for operating, maintaining and controlling the substation or wind turbine generators, including navigation, aviation and safety marking and lighting, systems for vessel access, charging and retrieval, cranes, potable water supply, black water separation, stores, fuels and spares, communications systems and control hub facilities and other associated equipment and facilities;
- (a)
“offshore works” means Work Nos. 1 and 2 and any related further associated development in connection with those Works;
“onshore crossing schedule” means the document certified as the onshore crossing schedule by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“onshore site preparation works” means operations consisting of site clearance, demolition, early planting of landscaping works, archaeological investigations, environmental surveys, ecological mitigation, investigations for the purpose of assessing ground conditions, remedial work in respect of any contamination or other adverse ground conditions, the diversion and laying of utilities and services, site security works, the erection of any temporary means of enclosure, the erection of temporary hard standing, the erection of welfare facilities, creation of site accesses and the temporary display of site notices or advertisements;
“onshore substation” means an HVAC substation compound sited at Bodelwyddan containing electrical equipment (including power transformers, gantries, switchgear, reactive compensation equipment, electrical protection equipment devices (disconnectors, circuit breakers), cooling, harmonic filters, cables and back-up generators), control buildings, lightning protection masts, communications masts, access including internal roads, fencing and other associated equipment, structures or buildings;
“onshore substation temporary construction compound” means a temporary construction compound and laydown area of up to 150,000 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the onshore substation;
“onshore works” means Work Nos. 3 to 38 inclusive and any related further associated development in connection with those Works;
“Order land” means the land shown on the land plan (onshore) which is within the limits of land to be acquired or used and described in the book of reference;
“Order limits” means the limits shown on the works plan – onshore and works plan - offshore and intertidal within which the authorised project may be carried out;
“operation” means the undertaking of activities authorised by this Order which are not part of the construction, commissioning or decommissioning of the authorised development;
“outline code of construction practice” means the document certified as the outline code of construction practice by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order including the annexes to the outline code of construction practice listed in Table 7 of Schedule 15;
“outline fisheries liaison and co-existence plan” means the document certified as the outline fisheries liaison and co-existence plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline highways access management plan” means the document certified as the outline highways access management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline landscape and ecology management plan” means the document certified as the outline landscape and ecology management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline marine mammal mitigation protocol” means the document certified as the outline marine mammal mitigation protocol by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline offshore written scheme of investigation and protocol for archaeological discoveries” means the document certified as the outline offshore written scheme of investigation and protocol for archaeological discoveries by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline offshore operations and maintenance plan” means the document certified as the outline offshore operations and maintenance plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline onshore written scheme of investigation” means the document certified as the outline onshore written scheme of investigation by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline operation drainage management strategy” means the document certified as the outline operation drainage management strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline skills and employment plan” means the document certified as the outline skills and employment plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline underwater sound management strategy” means the document certified as the outline underwater sound management strategy by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“outline vessel traffic management plan” means the document certified as the outline vessel traffic management plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“pin pile” means steel or concrete cylindrical piles driven and/or drilled into the seabed to secure jacket foundations;
“platform” means an offshore structure housing or incorporating electrical equipment such as switchgear and transformers and high voltage reactive controls, electrical systems such as metering and control systems, J-tubes, landing facilities for vessels and helicopters, re-fuelling facilities, vessel charging facilities, communication and control systems, auxiliary and uninterruptible power supplies, energy storage systems, standby electricity generation equipment, cranes, storage for waste and consumables including fuel, marking and lighting and other associated equipment and facilities;
“primary temporary construction compound” means a temporary construction compound and laydown area of up to 22,500 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the authorised project;
“relevant planning authority” means in any given provision of this Order (including the requirements), the local planning authority—
- (a)
for the area of land to which the provision relates is situated; and
- (b)
with the relevant legislative competence under the 1990 Act for the matter to which that provision relates;
- (a)
“requirements” means those matters set out in Schedule 2 (Requirements) to this Order;
“scour protection” means measures to prevent loss of seabed sediment around any structure placed in or on the seabed including by the use of bagged solutions filled with grout or other materials, protective aprons, mattresses with or without frond devices, and rock and gravel placement;
“secondary temporary construction compound” means one of up to four temporary construction compounds and laydown areas each of up to 15,000 square metres needed to store equipment and materials and for site accommodation during the construction of the authorised project;
“special category land plan” means the document certified as the special category land plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“statutory undertaker” means any person falling within section 127(8) of the 2008 Act and a public communications provider as defined in section 151 of the 2003 Act;
“street” means a street within the meaning of section 48 of the 1991 Actf14, together with land on the verge of a street or between two carriageways, and includes part of a street;
“street authority”, in relation to a street, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 1991 Actf15;
“street works and access to works plan” means the document certified as the street works and access to works plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 (certification of plans, etc.) for the purposes of this Order;
“suction bucket” means a tubular steel structure which partially or fully penetrates the seabed and associated equipment, including scour protection, J-tubes, corrosion protection systems and access platforms and equipment;
“temporary closure of public rights of way plan” means the document certified as the temporary stopping up of public rights of way plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“transition joint bay temporary construction compound” means a temporary construction compound and laydown area of up to 15,000 square metres needed to store equipment and materials during and for site accommodation the construction of the transition joint bays for the authorised project;
“tree and hedgerow plan” means the document certified as the tree and hedgerow plan by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order;
“trenchless installation techniques” means the installation of electrical circuits and/or cables by means of boring techniques for installing cable ducts including horizontal directional drilling, pipe jacking/horizontal auger boring and micro-boring;
“Trinity House” means the Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond;
“UKHO” means the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office of Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 2DN;
“undertaker” means Mona Offshore Wind Limited (company registration number 13497266) whose registered office address is Chertsey Road, Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex, United Kingdom, TW16 7BP;
“vessel” means every description of vessel, however propelled or moved, and includes a non-displacement craft, a personal watercraft, a seaplane on the surface of the water, a hydrofoil vessel, a hovercraft or any other amphibious vehicle and any other thing constructed or adapted for movement through, in, on or over water and which is at the time in, on or over water;
“wind turbine generator” means a structure comprising a tower, rotor with three blades connected at the hub, nacelle and ancillary electrical and other equipment which may include J-tube(s), transition piece, access and rest platforms, access ladders, boat access systems, corrosion protection systems, fenders and maintenance equipment, helicopter landing facilities and other associated equipment including communications equipment, fixed to a foundation or transition piece;
“works plan – offshore and intertidal” means the document certified as the works plan – offshore and intertidal by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order; and
“works plan - onshore” means the document certified as the works plan - onshore by the Secretary of State under article 41 for the purposes of this Order.
References in this Order to rights over land include references to rights to do or to place and maintain, anything in, on or under land or in the airspace above its surface and references in this Order to the imposition of restrictive covenants are references to the creation of rights over land which interfere with the interests or rights of another and are for the benefit of land which is acquired under this Order or is otherwise comprised in the Order land.
All distances, directions, areas and lengths referred to in this Order are approximate and distances between points on a work comprised in the authorised development are taken to be measured along that work.
For the purposes of this Order, all areas described in square metres in the book of reference are approximate.
References in this Order to points identified by letters or numbers are to be construed as references to points so lettered or numbered on the relevant plans.
References in this Order to numbered works are references to the works as numbered in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (authorised development).
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Words in art. 2(1) substituted (24.10.2025) by The Mona Offshore Wind Farm (Correction) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/1123), art. 1, Sch.
- F2
Word in art. 2(1) inserted (24.10.2025) by The Mona Offshore Wind Farm (Correction) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/1123), art. 1, Sch.
Commencement
- I1
Art. 2 in force at 28.7.2025, see art. 1
Footnotes
- f1
- f2
- f3
- f4
- f5
- f6
- f7
- f8
- f9
-
2004 c. 20. Section 105 was amended by section 69 of the Energy Act 2008 (c. 32).
- f10
- f11
- f12
- f13
-
“highway” is defined in section 328(1) for “highway authority” see section 1. Relevant amendments are as follows: section 1 was amended by sections 8 and 102 and Schedule 4, paragraph 1 and Schedule 17 of the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51), by section 21 of the 1991 Act and by section 1(6) and Schedule 1, paragraph 2 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 (c. 7), by S.I. 2015/481, and by S.I. 1991/2288.
- f14
-
Section 48 was amended by sections 124 and 134 of the Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26).
- f15
-
“Street authority” is defined in section 49, which was amended by section 57(1) and paragraph 117 of Schedule 1 to the Infrastructure Act 2015, and S.I. 2015/481.