Aquind cable project reportedly mounting appeal after French setback

A controversial project that would lay a cable along the entire length of Portsmouth is hanging in the balance.

The Aquind project could be challenging a legal decision taken in France which had effectively blocked the scheme which, if approved, it would lay an interconnector and data cable between Normandy and Portsmouth.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that Aquind is reportedly appealing this decision, which could put the controversial project back on the table.

Under the plans, the cable would make landfall at Eastney before being laid northwards through Portsea Island towards Eastern Road. From there, it would pass through Drayton, Purbrook and Waterlooville before finally reaching a substation in Lovedean.

The £1.3bn project would use subsea and underground high voltage direct current cables which, according to Aquind, would provide up to 5 per cent of Great Britain’s annual energy consumption.

From a local perspective, critics have argued that the project would cause significant disruption for Portsmouth, which is the most densely populated city in Europe outside London.

Portsmouth City Council passed a notice of motion in December 2025 in which the project received cross party condemnation for the damage, disruption and gridlock it could cause.

The council leader said residents “understandably” object to a four to five week road closure, noting the installation is estimated to take around 18 months.

Nationally, the Ministry of Defence raised “significant material concerns directly related to UK defence and national security”, namely Portsmouth Naval Base operations.

The captain of HMNB Portsmouth supported the MoD’s concerns, stating the project would “clearly and unacceptably impede and compromise the safe and effective use of HMNB Portsmouth and operations there and in the surrounding area of the English Channel.”

The French decision

For the project to continue, authorities in both the UK and France need to grant approval.

In July 2025, the Normandy prefect granted the project formal environmental authorisation, however this did not guarantee the project’s overall approval in France.

In October 2025, the French authorities denied the project a maritime concession, which is a legal agreement between a government and a private party to use or develop the coastline, seabed or port infrastructure for a defined period.

The Seine Maritime prefecture announced that the concession required national level recognition of public interest, which did not occur.

As the concession is vital to the project, this decision effectively blocked it from progressing further.

It is now understood that Aquind is mounting an appeal against that decision, according to the French campaign group Non à Aquind, which alerted its British counterparts Let’s Stop Aquind (LSA) on May 11, 2026.

LSA said it will “continue to support Non à Aquind in their resistance.

“We are hopeful that the Aquind Interconnector will be stopped, once and for all, and that residents on both sides of the Channel can put our worries to bed.

“LSA feels confident that Aquind’s appeal will fail because regulatory bodies on both sides have made clear there are three main problems with the project: It brings no benefits to consumers, It does not meet the requirements of either the French or UK electricity grid and It has not been given priority status by either the CRE or Ofgem”.

When asked to confirm whether the appeal had been launched, Aquind said it “does not comment on legal proceedings” as a matter of policy.

The UK decision

As the project is nationally significant infrastructure, Aquind applied for a Development Consent Order (DCO) in 2019.

In 2022, former secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng refused the DCO, only for the company to overturn that decision in the High Court in January 2023.

Since then, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has been reviewing ongoing evidence disclosures and considering submissions from the MoD, Aquind and local objectors.

A precise date for the final decision has not been set and timelines remain uncertain, although the progress of the decision can be viewed on the government’s website.