Energy Infrastructure Planning Projects

Martin McCluskey Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Martin McCluskey)]

This statement concerns two applications for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008: one by GT R4 Limited, trading as Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind for the construction and operation of an offshore generating station comprised of up to 100 wind turbine generators, with a capacity of up to 1.5 GW, off the Lincolnshire coast in the southern North Sea; and the other by Morecambe Offshore Wind Farm Limited for the construction and operation of an offshore generating station comprising up to 35 wind turbine generators, located in the eastern Irish Sea.

Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State (Ed Miliband) must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a statement to Parliament to announce it.

The statutory deadline for the decision on the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm Project was 10 October 2025. I have decided to allow an extension and to set a new deadline of 10 February 2026. This is to allow time to request further information that was not provided for consideration during the examination period and to give all interested parties the opportunity to review and comment on such information.

The statutory deadline for the decision on the Morecambe Offshore Wind Farm Generation Assets proposed development is 23 October 2025. I have decided to set a new statutory deadline of 18 December 2025. This is to allow time to request further information that was not available for consideration during the examination period and to give all interested parties the opportunity to review and comment on such information.

While it is not my preference to extend, I am clear that applications for consent for energy projects submitted under the Planning Act 2008 must meet the necessary standards.

The decision to set the new deadline for these applications is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.

[HCWS942]

Clean Energy Superpower Mission

Martin McCluskey Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Edward Miliband]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As with any planning decisions, there are clear parameters in the legislation on the consultation that needs to take place with local communities. I gently point out to her that, nine years ago, the last Government banned onshore wind in England for some of the reasons that she set out. I thought that was a mistake at the time, and it turned out to be even more of a mistake than I thought, because it exposed us to energy insecurity. We have to make judgments as Members of this House. Given the scale of the climate crisis, the energy insecurity and the energy security threat that we face, do we believe that we need to build infrastructure? I happen to believe that we do—yes, with community consent; yes, with community benefit; and yes, with the planning rules that I have set out.

[Martin McCluskey (Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on his new position. He was lucky enough to visit my constituency during the election campaign and to visit the port of Greenock, where he saw the great potential that exists for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West to contribute to the Government’s clean energy mission. What plans does he have to ensure that every part of the country, including in Scotland, can make a contribution? What message does he have for my constituents who are looking to the Government to make an investment in our ports and our marine assets?

[Edward Miliband]

My hon. Friend is an incredibly eloquent advocate for his port, which I was delighted to visit during the election campaign. He makes such an important point: for an island nation looking to take advantage—in terms of jobs as well as generation—of the opportunities of offshore wind, including floating offshore wind, our ports are a massively undervalued and under-invested asset. That is why in our manifesto we set out the largest public investment in ports since privatisation. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that it must involve the whole of our United Kingdom. Scotland has a special place in that, as it will become the new headquarters of GB Energy.