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Marine planning system

The UK government and devolved administrations are seeking to achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.  A key step towards realising this vision is the introduction of new systems of marine planning across the UK through the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and proposed legislation in Northern Ireland.

Marine planning will contribute to the effective management of marine activities and more sustainable use of our marine resources, creating the framework for consistent and evidence-based decision-making. This will be achieved through the following components of the new marine management system:

Marine Policy Statement

The UK Marine Policy Statement (PDF 1MB) applies to all UK waters. It is the framework for preparing Marine Plans, ensuring consistency across the UK, and provides direction for new marine licensing and other authorisation systems in each UK Administration. It will set out the general environmental, social and economic considerations that need to be taken into account in marine planning. It also provides guidance on the pressures and impacts which decision makers need to consider when planning for, and permitting development in, the UK marine area.

The Objectives in Our seas – a shared resource: High Level Marine Objectives, published in April 2009, underpin the development of the Marine Policy Statement.

A consultation on the Marine Policy Statement and supporting documents closed on 13 October 2010. Parliamentary Scrutiny of the Marine Policy Statement closed on 28 January 2011. The UK Government and Devolved Administrations jointly published the Marine Policy Statement on 18 March 2011.

Documents Supporting the Marine Policy Statement

For further information contact mps@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Marine plans

Marine Plans must be consistent with the Marine Policy Statement, ensuring a strong link between national policy and individual developments. Plans will present and interpret national policies and apply area-specific policy, spatially where appropriate, to the management of marine resources and activities.

Marine Plans will make a significant contribution towards coastal integration. They will guide developers about where they are likely to be able to carry out activities, or where conditions or restrictions may be placed on what they do. All operators and regulators operating in a way that could impact on a Plan area will be steered by the same Plan, giving certainty and achieving consistency in the way decisions are made. Marine Plans will also encourage an understanding of the marine environment and the activities taking place in each area.

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires all public authorities taking authorisation or enforcement decisions that affect or might affect the UK marine area to do so in accordance with Marine Plans and the MPS unless relevant considerations indicate otherwise.

Marine planning in English Inshore and Offshore marine regions

From July to October 2010 we consulted on ‘A Description of the Marine Planning System for England’ (PDF) and related Impact Assessment (PDF): a document intended for use by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which will be carrying out marine planning in England, and for the information of other interested parties. This consultation took place alongside the Marine Policy Statement consultation to explain the wider context of the marine planning system in which the Marine Policy Statement will operate in England. Defra has revised the Description document in the light of the responses to the consultation.  The final version was published on 18 March 2011 along with the summary of responses to the consultation and the related Impact Assessment which summarises the expected costs and benefits of marine planning in England. It is intended that the final Impact Assessment provides a model to inform  the Impact Assessment which will accompany each individual Marine Plan.

Defra consulted on the Marine Plan area boundaries for English inshore and offshore regions (on National Archives) and the criteria for selecting the order in which the Marine Management Organisation should begin planning within those regions from 17 November 2009 – 16 February 2010. A summary of responses (PDF on National Archives) was published in July 2010.

In October 2010 the MMO announced that the first areas to have Marine Plans will be the East Inshore and East Offshore areas. The East Inshore Plan area includes an area of coastline which stretches from Flamborough Head in the North, down to Felixstowe in the South taking in some 6000 square kilometres of sea to the East of England. The East Inshore Marine Plan will include the intertidal zones within river estuaries, up to the mean high water mark.

The East Offshore plan area includes the marine area from 12 nautical miles to the outer edge of England’s marine area, a total of approximately 49,000 square kilometres of sea. The Netherlands, Belgium and a small part of France border the East Offshore plan area.

Marine Planning and Licensing Newsletter

This newsletter contains a series of updates on the implementation of the new Marine Planning and Licensing systems throughout the UK.

Further information is on the Marine Management Organisation website.

    Page last modified: 28 April 2011

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