We understand that if you are a landowner or occupier in the area of the proposed Viking CCS pipeline, you are likely to have questions about how the pipeline might affect the land you own or occupy.
This page aims to provide an answer to some of those questions.
If your land will be impacted, we will have already been in contact to provide further clarity. Additional information about next steps is provided below.
If you have a question for Gateley Hamer, you can call James McInnerny in their Land Access Team on 07706 322 850. Please leave a message if there is no answer and a member of the team will get back to you within 2 working days.
Alternatively, you can get in touch with Gateley Hamer by email via this contact form. Once you’ve sent your email enquiry, our specialist team will aim to respond to your email within 2 working days
You can see the proposed route of the Viking CCS pipeline on our interactive map. To help inform this decision, we have carried out on-site survey work and will continue to do so. This work has helped us to identify potential constraints associated with the Viking CCS pipeline and inform the best route.
We appointed Gateley Hamer as our land agent to identify landowners along the potential route and approach those landowners to secure access to land.
Ahead of submitting the planning application for the Viking CCS pipeline we consulted widely with stakeholders, including those owning or having an interest in land that would be affected by the pipeline.
To determine who was consulted we undertook diligent enquiries to identify and consult all those potentially impacted by the scheme – this process is known as ‘Land Referencing’.
Land Referencing requires the use of publicly available information such as Her Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR), to initially identify any relevant land interests.
It is possible that Gateley Hamer, on our behalf, will require you to confirm your interest and provide the details of other parties whom you are aware of having an interest in the land. This information would be requested in the form of a Land Interest Questionnaire and follow-up correspondence.
This information will be used to fulfil our statutory obligations, which include making sure that you are up to date with important milestones on the scheme and to continue direct engagement throughout this process.
We have appointed Gateley Hamer as our land agent to identify landowners along the potential route and approach those landowners to secure access to land by agreement. Landowners will already have received this correspondence. Working with landowners is an important part of this project and wherever possible, we want to seek voluntary agreements to secure land access.
Not necessarily. If you are affected, you will be made aware of this through the ongoing discussions that are taking place.
We need to carry out survey work not just on the land directly impacted by the route of the Viking CCS pipeline, but also on areas of land not directly impacted by the route.
Last year, we wrote to landowners introducing ourselves and the proposed Viking CCS pipeline. In this letter to landowners we also provided dates and locations for our first round of public non-statutory consultation events which took place in Spring 2022.
Further letters were sent to landowners to inform them about our second round of non-statutory consultation which took place in Autumn 2022, and our statutory consultation which took place between Tuesday 22 November 2022 and Tuesday 24 January 2023.
Landowners may have received letters from Gateley Hamer on our behalf seeking access to land for surveys. Where responses were not received, reminder letters will have been sent.
Landowners may have also received letters from Gateley Hamer on our behalf which will include a Land Interest Questionnaire. This information is used to fulfil our statutory obligations, which include making sure that you are up to date with important milestones on the scheme and to continue direct engagement throughout this process.
To ensure views of important stakeholders are taken into account, we will continue to consult on our proposals. We will write to inform you of any further consultations taking place.
Finally, should your land or rights inland be required for the construction and operation of the Viking CCS pipeline, Gateley Hamer will make you aware of this in due course (later this year) to discuss what this means for you, and next steps.
Gateley Hamer is a specialist property consultancy with experience in supporting developers of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. Gateley Hamer has been appointed to conduct land referencing and arrange land access on our behalf. Once the route of the Viking CCS pipeline has been confirmed, Gateley Hamer will negotiate the rights in land required to construct and operate the Viking CCS pipeline.
Survey work involves looking at habitats and species present within the area of the proposed Viking CCS pipeline and findings informed the Environmental Impact Assessment. These include ecology surveys for great crested newt, badger, bat, otter, water vole and wintering and breeding birds.
We also have carried out, and continue to carry out, geological and hydrology surveys, noise monitoring and traffic surveys, archaeological surveys and site walkovers, the results of which will have informed the Environmental Impact Assessment.
Landowner addresses are available through Her Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR). We have downloaded this data to inform who we contact in relation to our proposals.
The Viking CCS pipeline will be constructed on land outside our ownership. As such, rights in land will be required for the affected areas. Landowners affected will be appropriately compensated.
Gateley Hamer will discuss with you any compensation due as a result of the surveys proposed on your land.
Get in touch: Access to land for surveys
If you have a question for Gateley Hamer about the requirement to access your land for surveys, please contact James McInnerny in their Land Access Team via email at [email protected], or alternatively on 07706 322 850. Please leave a message if there is no answer and member of the team will get back to you within 2 working days.
Get in touch: General project queries
If you have a general project query, you can contact our project team at [email protected] or by calling 07917 986 094.
The Viking CCS pipeline is classified as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’ under the Planning Act 2008 and requires a Development Consent Order (DCO) for its construction. The DCO application has been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate, which, in the case of this project, acts on behalf of the Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The decision on whether to grant final consent for the Viking CCS pipeline will be made by the Secretary of State.
From accepting an application to making a decision, the whole process should last around 18 months.
Harbour Energy submitted an application to the Planning Inspectorate in October 2023 and that application has now been accepted for examination.
More information about the planning process can be found on the National Infrastructure Planning website.
Construction of the proposed onshore Viking CCS pipeline is expected to begin in 2025, subject to being granted a Development Consent Order. The construction phase is anticipated to last up to two years in total.
