Latest update
The Planning Inspectorate has accepted our application for development consent for Sea Link.
We submitted our application for development consent on 27 March 2025. Since then, the Planning Inspectorate has checked whether our application includes enough detail for them to be able to accept and examine it.
The decision to accept our application marks the start of the pre-examination stage. For more information about what this means and how to have your say on the plans, see our FAQs page.
Our application has now been published in full on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, where you can also read about the planning process and what happens next.
Our application has now been published in full on the Planning Inspectorate’s website here. You can also register to receive email updates on the examination process directly from the Planning Inspectorate.
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 the Great Grid Upgrade, please click below.
The Great Grid Upgrade
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