The Sea Link project has been granted development consent by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Planning Inspectorate announced on 30 October 2026. The project involves building a new converter station within 5km of the proposed Friston substation, connected by High Voltage Alternating Current underground cables.

National Grid Electricity Transmission submitted the application on 27 March 2025, and it was accepted for examination on 23 April 2025. During the six-month examination, the public, statutory consultees and other interested parties could give evidence to the Examining Authority, which made its recommendation to the Secretary of State on 30 July 2026. The Inspectorate said the case was its 118th energy application out of 186 examined to date and was completed within the statutory timescale under the Planning Act 2008. The decision was made by Baroness Curran on behalf of the Energy Secretary's legal authority.

The decision, the recommendation and the evidence considered are publicly available on the National Infrastructure Planning website. The Inspectorate said it gave full consideration to local views and evidence before the recommendation was made.