Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan - Socio-Economic Baseline Review
This Socio-Economic Baseline Review provides a regional overview of the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters area for the pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan. It also informs the Sustainability Appraisal for this Plan.
10 Military Interests
10.1 Spatial Extent and Intensity of Activity and Interests
10.1.1 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) uses several areas in or adjacent to the PFOW, mainly for training purposes. In particular, Cape Wrath is an exercise area, firing range and a firing danger area, along with a Navy exercise area immediately west of the PFOW, which extends right down the west coast. There is also an exercise area and a firing danger area which covers sections of the Moray Firth and runs parallel offshore up to the north east tip of the Orkney Islands. Figure 11 summarises the military activity in the PFOW and adjacent waters. The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, operated by the MoD is located next to the Dounreay site in Caithness. Management and operation of the Royal Navy's land based nuclear reactor (Vulcan Shore Test Facility) is undertaken by Roll-Royce. [40]
10.2 Economic value and employment
10.2.1 Detailed information about the intensity of defence use of the seas in the PFOW area is not available for reasons of national security.
Figure 11 Defence Locations in the PFOW area [41]
10.3 Historic and future trends
10.3.1 MoD personnel data are available by local authority area. [42] This gives total military and civilian employment in Highland (660) and Orkney Islands (0) for 2014. Unfortunately these data cannot be disaggregated further to the PFOW area. These figures have remained relatively constant over the last five years so it seems reasonable to assume- in the absence of further information- that current activity level and type will continue in the PFOW area. However this is will be heavily influenced by the nature of any future MoD spending decisions.
10.4 Data Gaps and Limitations
10.4.1 As mentioned above, detailed information about the intensity of defence use of the seas in the PFOW area is not available for reasons of national security. It is likely that this will remain a data gap that cannot easily be addressed in future.
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