Proposal to designate two historic marine protected areas: consultation

Introduction

The Scottish Government's vision for the marine environment is of clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas; managed to meet the long-term needs of nature and people.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this consultation paper. We would welcome your views on the potential creation of two Historic Marine Protected Areas, as part of the Scottish Marine Protected Area (MPA) network. This consultation fulfils a commitment in the 2019-20 Programme for Government to take forward two Historic MPAs to designation. 

Earlier this year Historic Environment Scotland undertook a consultation on these proposals and have provided their final advice.  They recommend that both sites are designated as Historic Marine Protected Areas.  If taken forward to designation, the sites would be designated using the powers under s67 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Historic Marine Protected Areas are designated for the purpose of preserving ‘marine historic assets’ of national importance.

The consultation seeks your views on the following questions:

1. Do you support the designation of the Queen of Sweden as a Historic Marine Protected Area?

2. Do you support the designation of Scapa Flow as a Historic Marine Protected Area?

3. Do you have any comments on the draft Designation Orders?

4. Do you have any comments on the advice and consultation reports from Historic Environment Scotland?

What documents should I read to answer these questions?

The following documents are available:

• Draft designation order for Queen of Sweden
• Draft designation order for Scapa Flow
• Historic Environment Scotland consultation report
• Draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for Queen of Sweden
• Draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for Scapa Flow

For additional information please refer to:

• Queen of Sweden - http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/decision/500002688 
• Scapa Flow - http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/decision/500002687  

How do I respond to the consultation?

You are invited to respond to this consultation by 27 November 2019. Please respond to the consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation hub, Citizen Space (https://consult.gov.scot/). You can access and respond to this consultation online at: https://consult.gov.scot/marine-conservation/designate-two-historic-marine-protected-areas/ 

Further details on how to respond can be found in Appendix A & B