The sensitivity of relevant species will be guided by available literature such as the studies mentioned above and by the assessments of sensitivity to noise available on MarLIN.
4.1.1.5 Loss of habitat: 29.
The installation of turbine foundations will result in a small temporary loss of habitat during the construction phase. This will have a small footprint and it is not anticipated that it would be considered significant in the context of similar available habitat in the wider area. The exception would be if this loss was of Annex I habitat, however none are known to exist within East Anglia THREE and East Anglia FOUR at present.
4.1.1.5.1 Proposed method for assessment: Loss of habitat during construction will only assess the impacts of temporary habitat loss whereas impacts during operation will assess permanent loss of habitat (see below).
Information generated as part of the coastal processes assessment and calculations based on the design parameters will be used to quantify the magnitude of the impact, these will include:
o The area in which the cable plough operates o Area around foundations o Area around scour and cable protection.
It is proposed that habitat loss during construction is assessed along with the physical disturbance impact
Assessment of the sensitivities will be guided by the assessments available on MarLIN.
4.1.2 Potential impacts during operation
4.1.2.1 Loss of habitat: 30.
There may be some loss of habitat over time associated with scour around foundations. This will have a small footprint and it is not anticipated that it would be considered significant in the context of similar available habitat in the wider area.
4.1.2.1.1 Proposed method for assessment: The ZEA provides known size of area of each habitat type across the zone which can also be augmented by the 2013 survey data and applied to the specific sites.
Calculations of the entire footprint of the project will be made using a worst case scenario for:
Evidence Plan Benthic Ecology Method Statement
East Anglia THREE & East Anglia FOUR Offshore Windfarms
