Adams Hendry prepared an application for consent to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for the installation of new high-pressure twin gas pipelines under the Solent connecting the mainland in New Forest District and the Isle of Wight. Consent was sought under the Public Gas Transporter Pipeline Works (EIA) Regulations 1999, and the preparation of a separate planning application to the Local Authority.
The relevant consents were successfully gained after considerable discussions had been undertaken with the responsible consenting bodies including the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the Marine and Fisheries Agency and Isle of Wight Council and key stakeholders with interests in the area. The overlapping legislative and consent regimes for the scheme were complex and challenging and the initial preparation of a robust consent strategy was critical to the project’s success.
Extending 3.9km under the Solent, the pipelines were believed to be the longest in the world at the time constructed by horizontal directional drilling. The scheme was granted the necessary consents in 2010 and is now fully operational.
