A project like London Array needs a variety of planning consents and licences before it can be built and operated. These are needed for the onshore elements, for example the substation, access road and changes to overhead lines, and for offshore elements such as the wind turbines, offshore substations and cables.

The relevant permissions to allow the wind farm to be built have now been granted from the following bodies:  

• The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and The Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA) are the government departments responsible for granting and enforcing the permissions for the offshore components of the wind farm.
• Swale Borough Council (SBC) and Canterbury City Council (CCC) are the enforcing authorities for the permissions associated with the onshore components of the wind farm.

In assessing the applications, these authorities have worked closely with other key departments and statutory consultees.

The map above shows the jurisdiction boundaries for each authority.