21 Oct 2025
Photo by Red Morley Last-minute changes to the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill have sparked backlash from nature groups who have accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of removing environmental protections to secure growth headlines ahead of her budget. The amendments are designed to make it easier for developers to side-step environmental laws for major projects […]
30 Sep 2025
Photo by Kilian Murphy The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is implementing a comprehensive upgrade to its marine licensing service, moving away from the current marine case management system (MCMS) to a new modern platform offering long-term stability, enhanced security and improved user experience. The new service will be accompanied by end-to-end service improvements aimed at enhancing […]
06 May 2025
The Irish government has announced the start of work to prepare a National Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP). This follows the approval of the South Coast ORE DMAP by both houses of the Irish parliament in October 2024. “Having a single National DMAP will accelerate the process of site designation for offshore […]
11 Mar 2025
As a new Crown Estate Act moves ever closer to becoming a reality, the final Parliamentary debates and readings of the Bill threw up discussions focussing on marine planning, devolution and community benefits. Final amendments to the Bill – which aims to modernise the management and investment powers of the Crown Estate and give broader […]
17 Dec 2024
The Environmental Audit Committee of the UK Parliament is seeking views on the Government’s delivery of its environmental obligations under international marine treaties and the Government’s strategy for marine planning and protection. The United Nations’ (UN) 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) relates to the planet’s largest ecosystem, which refers to life below water. The 14th […]
12 Nov 2024
Scotland adopted its first National Marine Plan in 2015, with the aim of helping to manage the use of Scotland’s seas in a sustainable way. In 2022 work began to create an updated national marine plan, to better reflect how the sea is currently being used, and to plan for its continued and sustainable future […]
24 Sep 2024
Plans to extend Scotland’s marine planning zones have been put out to public consultation for a total of 12 weeks. Extending local authority responsibilities Fish and shellfish farms require planning permission out to twelve nautical miles, however local authority responsibilities for planning controls currently only extend to three nautical miles. Under new proposals, the marine […]
17 Sep 2024
A new report commissioned by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) titled “Exploring the challenges, opportunities and barriers to local decision making in the context of marine planning” has been published. The research aimed to scope out the challenges, opportunities and barriers to local decision-making within a marine planning context; defining localised marine planning, its potential […]
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