Information for landowners
When developing proposals for network upgrades, we need to understand who has a legal interest in the land in and around the areas being considered as part of the projects.
In the DCO process, anyone with a legal interest in land is known as a Person with an Interest in Land (PIL). If you are identified as a PIL, we will contact you directly.
Whilst much of the information we need to confirm a legal interest on is available on public registers, we have appointed land suppliers Ardent to contact individual landowners to verify the publicly available information and ensure NGET has have made best efforts to identify any potentially impacted landowners. Ardent operates across multiple sectors, providing land and consenting advice to support the promotion and delivery of major projects in the UK and Ireland.
More information regarding National Grid’s land rights and payment schedules, can be found here.
Ardent will also assist with contacting landowners and occupiers to arrange access for non-intrusive and intrusive surveys which we plan to carry out whilst we develop the proposals and prepare the application for a development consent order.
More detailed information for landowners, along with relevant contact information can be found on the landowner page of our project website.
If you are a landowner and believe your property may be affected by our proposals, and want to talk to our lands team, please email [email protected] or call 0203 302 0545 or write to: EGL 3 and EGL 4, Ardent, 36 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JL.
Surveys
To understand more about the local environment, and to inform the environmental impact assessment, we need to carry out surveys. These will be on land within the corridor, on some adjoining land, and areas that may be identified through consultation feedback as potentially sensitive.
These surveys are to assess the landscape, ecology and cultural heritage aspects of the area, to inform further detailed environmental assessments. All survey information gathered has been published either as part of our Preliminary environmental information report or will support our application for a development consent order.
Ongoing surveys
Below is a list of our ongoing and upcoming surveys. If for any reason a survey cannot take place on the scheduled date, such as poor weather conditions, we will endeavour to reschedule the survey in a timely manner.
Access to land plots are agreed before any surveys may take place. If you are a landowner and have questions about the surveys on your land, please email [email protected] or call 0203 302 0545 or write to: EGL 3 and EGL 4, Ardent, 36 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JL.
| Date | Survey | Location | Description |
| January 2026 onwards | Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | The survey consists of accessing land by foot and using a hand auger to take a soil sample down to describe the soils. A small number of soil pits will be dug using a spade to assess some of the topsoil characteristics in representative soil types. All materials exposed is then returned to the hole immediately following description of the profile. |
| January 2026 onwards | Bat Roost – preliminary aerial tree-climbed inspection | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | The survey will be undertaken where the GLTA identifies trees with PRF or is unable to confirm their absence from the ground. The survey will also involve certified climbers using ladders or specialist roped-access equipment to further inspect target trees. |
| January 2026 onwards | Geophysical Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk | Non-intrusive surveys to detect and map contrasts between buried archaeological remains and the surrounding soil. The geophysical survey will be carried out using a handheld cart or All-Terrian Vehicle (ATV) and will require the use of a standard gradiometer, which will identify buried anomalies of potential archaeological origin at specified locations. |
| January 2026 onwards | Drainage Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Walkover survey to assess the topography of the land, existing land drainage and potential outfall locations for any additional drainage that may be needed during construction. Survey will be undertaken by a small team on foot. This will occur all-year round, across 1-2 days per site, depending on size of the survey area. |
| January 2026 onwards | Soil Resource Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Surveyor will access land by foot and using a hand auger to take a soil sample. The exact locations within each field will be determined on site by surveyor and will avoid areas such as farm tracks, field edges etc. Soil pits also be dug using a spade to assess topsoil characteristics in representative soil types. All materials exposed will be laid on plastic sheeting for describing the relevant characteristics and then returned to the hole immediately. Iti s proposed that no auger hole / soil pits are left open for more than 30 minutes and no equipment will be left on site |
| January 2026 onwards | Bat Roost – Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) of buildings/structures and Ground Level Tree Assessment (GLTA) | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | External assessment of buildings/structures and ground level inspection of trees to identify potential roosting features (PRF) and classify the suitability of the building/structure/tree for supporting roosting bats. This initial survey will identify the requirement for further survey to confirm the presence/likely absence of PRF (if unconfirmed during the PRA/GLTA) and/or roosting bats. |
| January 2026 onwards | Ecology UK Hab, PEA walkover surveys | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Undertaken by pairs of surveyors. The survey is an initial assessment of the ecological features present, or potentially present within a specified area. It includes the mapping the habitat types present and recording condition of habitats present. It also assessing the suitability of habitats for protected or priority species and recordings sightings of invasive non-native plant and animal species. |
| January 2026 onwards | Archaeological Trial Trenching | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland | Archaeological trial trenches are excavated using a mechanical excavator in a working area typically 60m long and 10m wide. The trenches are up to 50m long, approximately 2m wide and typically 0.4-0.7m deep. Topsoil is excavated by machine and is typically 0.30-0.40m deep. If subsoil is present this is also removed by machine and is kept separate from topsoil. Typically, trial trenches go to a depth of 0.4-0.7m. If anything of interest is found further investigation may be required. Any archaeology, such as pits, ditches or walls will be investigated by hand tools (mattocks, shovels, trowels) and recorded using GPS survey kits. Trenches are backfilled with the excavated materials in the order in which they were excavated and are compacted by the machine excavator. Plant will typically include 360° tracked excavators that are delivered by low-loaders at agreed locations. Equipment is transported in a 4x4 which will be parked close to the survey area. Welfare vans and welfare trailers are used and may be placed upon track-matting, usually situated by the access to the survey area from the public highway |
| February 2026 onwards | Environmental Walkover Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | A pair of surveyors will walk the publicly accessible areas and/or a land parcel looking at the nature of the land and the features within it. The surveyors will records information on a digital device or OS maps and may take photos to support the recorded information. This survey might include a pre statutory consultation in person walk through with Natural England, between Landfall and Gunby Hall. |
| March 2026 onwards | Great Crested Newt (GCN) – Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) Assessment | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | A pair of surveyors will undertake a visual inspection of waterbodies to assess the suitability (such as geographical location, presence of other ponds nearby, presence of fish, presence of waterfowl) to support great crested newts. |
| January 2026 onwards | Intrusive Ground Investigations (exploratory holes to include boreholes, trial pits, cone penetration tests, window sampling, dynamic cone penetrometer tests) | Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk | The purpose of the ground investigation is to gather data on the ground conditions within the project area to inform the design of the various elements of the project. Exploratory holes will be used to collect samples for laboratory testing, carry out in-situ testing e.g. infiltration tests and provide descriptions of the ground profile. Groundwater monitoring standpipes will be installed in selected holes. All works are to be undertaken initially via Permitted Development Rights and in agreement with the Landowners, by an experienced and competent ground investigation contractor and, following completion of the works, land will be restored in accordance with Environment Agency good practice guidance. |
| April 2026 onwards | Water Vole Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Targeted water vole surveys will include a bankside and in-channel searches. This may include the use of waders and/or boat-based survey. Field signs recorded include the presence of latrines, burrows, runs, footprints, feeding remains, dropping and sightings. If there is uncertainty a further survey may be carried out July – September. |
| April 2026 onwards | Landscape Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk | Three visits, the first will be undertaken to verify the landscape characteristics, key visual receptors and preliminary viewpoint locations. The second and third will be one in the summer and one in the winter (to show the effect of seasonal vegetation). Surveyors will take photographs from agreed viewpoint locations. Equipment required includes a camera and tripod. |
| April 2026 | Residual Visual Amenity Assessment (RVAA) Surveys | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk | For the first stage, WSP would undertake an initial desktop search followed by a short tour of the identified properties to establish the likelihood of a view from each property and to discount any that, from professional judgement, would not be impacted to an extent where the RVAT would be tested. This initial search would enable a brief observation of the properties without the requirement for homeowner interaction or survey and would reduce the amount of time NGET and Ardent may be required for.
We would propose two WSP Landscape Architects to be involved in this initial survey (allowing for 2 days per Landscape Architect for this stage)
For the second stage of survey, the WSP Landscape Architects would undertake further field work and assessment of each residential property identified as requiring further assessment (to fulfil Steps 3 and 4), with a maximum 1 hour time period to undertake survey/assessment per property. We have assumed that two WSP Landscape Architects would work separately across locations, supported by a second team member with the assumption that lone working would not be permitted (although Ardent/NGET presence during the second stage site visits may negate this requirement) |
| April 2026 | Drone Surveys | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland | Drone survey purpose is for the measurement of topography, feature mapping, and detection of magnetic anomalies to identify potential unexploded ordnance and / or archaeological items. This taking place at the landfall location at Anderby Creek for EGL3 and EGL4. The planned operations are non-intrusive, requiring no physical interaction to obtain the survey data. 14 days of operation are planned during April.
High Flying: For the photogrammetry and LiDAR surveys, flights will be conducted at higher altitude, typically between 50 m and 80 m above ground level, with flight speeds ranging from 5 m/s to 15 m/s. The survey is expected to require approximately 2 hours for site setup and system checks, around 4 hours of active flight time, and a further 2 hours for packing away. These surveys will normally be completed within a single day.
Low Flying : For the UAV magnetometer survey, operations will be conducted at very low altitude, typically between 1 m and 3 m above ground level, with slower flight speeds of approximately 1 m/s to 5 m/s to ensure high-quality data collection. Magnetometer flights are planned for up to 8 to 10 hours per day over an anticipated period of 14 operational days. Multiple flights will be undertaken each day, with breaks for battery changes and system checks as required. Scheduling will be flexible and weather-dependent, with flight operations only undertaken when environmental conditions are suitable and safe to do so. Number of surveyors – up to 4 for the drone survey. |
| April 2026 | Nesting Bird Walkover (Drone Surveys) | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland | 2 surveyors will be undertaking nesting bird walkovers in the 1-3 days before the drone survey commences. This will be a walkover of the land to identify any areas of actual or potential nesting bird locations in the drone survey vicinity. |
| April 2026 onwards | Arboriculture Survey | Lincolnshire – East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland Norfolk – King's Lynn and West Norfolk Cambridgeshire - Fenland | Walkover surveys to identify quality of trees and identify where their canopies and roots extend. Surveyors will assess each tree subject to a broader arboricultural assessment recording species, Root Protection Areas, canopy coverage, tree condition and health. These surveys will occur in day visits (though visits may take multiple days dependent on the size of the land surveyed and tree cover). |
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