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 […]
20 Aug 2024
The MMO’s digital marine planning and mapping service – Explore Marine Plans – has recently been updated with new functionality and an improved user experience. The new service enables users to find marine planning information for England, including data on marine licenses, environmental designations and policy information from regional marine plans. A new way to […]
30 Jul 2024
A recently published study, commissioned by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) investigates the suitability of existing Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) methods relative to the requirement to adopt a standardised approach to CEA in support of marine plan development. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for carrying out CEAs at a marine plan-level […]
23 Apr 2024
The Welsh Government proposes to introduce a Marine Planning Notice (MPN) to identify Strategic Resources Areas (SRAs) for tidal stream energy. Tidal stream energy resource occurs in several areas around the Welsh coast, mainly where water flows are restricted, such as areas around coastal headlands. However, there are a limited number of small and discrete […]
23 Jan 2024
From the Marine Management Organisation (MMO): Overview To start the process of replacing the East Inshore and East Offshore Marine Plans, the Marine Planning Team invites those interested to have their say in the East Marine Plan Statement of Public Participation consultation. The Sectary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) agreed with […]
19 Dec 2023
With offshore wind scaling up rapidly in the UK ocean, demand for sea-space is increasing. At the same time, there is more evidence than ever before that the ocean is near an ecological tipping point, with marine species in sharp decline. Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Marine Strategy Group is working on policy proposals to reconcile […]
10 Oct 2023
Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) was published in 2015 and following statutory reviews on the current plan, last year Scottish Ministers committed to update and replace the NMP (NMP2). The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires that a sustainability appraisal is undertaken to assess the impact of the proposed policies within the National Marine […]
