Planning Scotlands Seas: Consultation Analysis Overview Report.
A suite of consultations relating to the use of marine resources was published as Planning Scotland’s Seas in July 2013. Independent analysis of all written responses to the consultations has been undertaken. An overview is presented in this report.
1 INTRODUCTION
Background
1.1 In 2013, Marine Scotland consulted on a number of proposals to take forward integrated marine planning for Scotland's seas. The joint consultation 'Planning Scotland's Seas' included five individual areas for consultation:
- Draft National Marine Plan.
- Possible Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas.
- Sectoral Marine Plans for Offshore Wind, Wave and Tidal Energy.
- Priority Marine Features.
- Draft Planning Circular.
1.2 Analysis was conducted on responses to each of these consultations and a separate analysis report of written responses produced for each. Interested parties also had the opportunity to participate in the consultation through associated events. Reports on the events are provided on the Scottish Government website.
The consultations
1.3 The five consultations that made up 'Planning Scotland's Seas' were as follows:
1.4 Scotland's National Marine Plan ( NMP) set out the Scottish Government's vision for Scotland's marine environment. The document set marine planning in context, presented key objectives and planning polices related to achieving sustainable development and use of the marine area. The aim is to provide a single framework to manage all activity in Scottish waters, offering clarity to developers and decision makers on Scotland's priorities for sustainable use of the sea.
1.5 Marine Protected Areas. The Scottish Government received advice from Scottish Natural Heritage and Joint Nature Conservation Committee on 33 possible Marine Protected Areas ( pMPAs) which have been developed and a further four Marine Protected Area search locations which are still being assessed. The 'Possible Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas' consultation sought views on whether the 33 areas should be considered as pMPAs to supplement the existing protected areas and create a wider network of Marine Protected Areas.
1.6 Sectoral Marine Plans for Offshore Wind, Wave and Tidal Energy in Scottish Waters outlined proposed spatial policy at the national and regional level for the development of commercial scale offshore renewable energy in Scottish Waters. The draft Plans contained ten proposed options for offshore wind energy, ten for tidal energy and eight for wave energy.
1.7 Priority Marine Features. In light of its three pillar approach to conservation (species conservation, site protection and wider seas policies and measures) Marine Scotland has developed a list of Priority Marine Features ( PMFs). The concept of PMFs is not intended to replace existing lists, but rather to provide a new focus for marine conservation activities. The intended purpose of the list is to support advice on marine biodiversity, guide future research priorities and help deliver marine planning and licensing systems set out in the Marine (Scotland) Act and other statutory processes.
1.8 The Draft Planning Circular outlines the details of the new relationship between the statutory land use planning system and marine planning and licensing. The Circular is in draft form, and accompanies the consultation on the Draft National Marine Plan ( NMP) for Scotland. The Draft Planning Circular will be issued in final form concurrently with the final National Marine Plan.
1.9 The following table shows the responses to each of the written consultations. Many respondents replied to more than one of the consultation papers.
Table 1.1 Consultation responses
| Respondent group | Marine Protected Areas | Sectoral Marine Plans | Draft National Marine Plan | Draft Planning Circular | Priority Marine Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Individuals | 216 | 115 | 16 | 1 | 4 |
| Academic/ scientific | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Aquaculture | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Community group/ Local group | 12 | 11 | 5 | 1 | - |
| Energy | 10 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| Environment/Conservation | 20 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| Fisheries | n/a | 10 | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| Mobile fishing | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Static fishing | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| International fisheries | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Historic/ heritage | - | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Industry/ transport | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | - |
| Local authority/ Planning authority | 12 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 6 |
| Local coastal partnership | 2 | - | 7 | 2 | - |
| Other Public sector/ Regulatory body | 10 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| Recreation/ tourism | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Other | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| (Total Organisations) | (116) | (72) | (108) | (37) | (27) |
| Total consultation responses | 332 | 187 | 124 | 38 | 31 |
| Total campaign responses | 14,371 | 443 | - | - | - |
| Total responses | 14,703 | 630 | 124 | 38 | 31 |
1.10 As can be seen in the table above, the consultations attracted very different numbers of responses. The 'Priority Marine Features' consultation attracted the smallest number of responses (31) while the 'Possible Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas' consultation had 14,703 responses including a very large number (14,371) of non-standard responses [1] .
1.11 In some cases, comments made in response to one consultation were relevant to another of the consultations. In these cases the response was added to all relevant consultations.
Summary report
1.12 While many of the themes that emerged from responses to each of the individual consultations were specific to that consultation, several themes were found to be common to two or more of the consultations.
1.13 This summary report outlines the themes that were common to two or more consultations.
1.14 In addition, a small number of themes emerged which fell outwith the scope of the Planning Scotland's Seas consultations or which related to the consultation process itself. These other issues are also outlined in this report.
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