Next steps

Once this consultation closes we will carefully consider all the feedback we have received alongside carrying out further technical, engineering and environmental work.

This is all with the aim of developing our final design for the HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline - the basis of our DCO application.

The final design will consist of our redline boundary, HAGIs, BVIs, and areas to be used for construction and access. We will aim to remove any optionality. This stage of consultation is likely to be the last project-wide consultation on our proposals so it's really important you take this opportunity to have your say.

Once we have developed our final proposals we will submit an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. We expect to submit our application in Spring 2025.

Our application will include:

• A final consultation report summarising people’s responses to this consultation and previous consultations. It will include an explanation of how we have taken people’s views into account.
• A final Environmental Statement setting out the environmental considerations for the project and how we propose to mitigate them.

The Planning Inspectorate will examine our proposals and prepare a report for the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Secretary of State will then make the final decisions on our application, which we expect mid to late 2026. If our application is successful, we expect to begin construction in 2027 and for construction to take around three years to complete.

The Planning Inspectorate's website can be found at https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/.

 Please note that this is an indicative timeline and could be subject to change.