Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan. Summary.

Summary of challenges

• Initial largely marine renewable energy focus of the plan
• Stakeholder database crashed (June 2013)
• Managing decision making across multiple organisations
• Not always clear on sectoral priorities from the outset
• Needed a more structured approach to engage sectoral interests
• Differing stakeholder expectations of what the project could realistically deliver
• Difficult to develop a clear direction for future development and activities within a non-statutory plan
• Resource constraints restricted ability to address some identified data gaps and to deliver a spatial strategy for future development