1. Marine Planning – A Council Perspective
James Green
Senior Policy Planner
Development and Marine Planning
Orkney Islands Council
A11MP Introduction to Marine Planning
Heriot Watt University
7 November 2016

2. Content
Key themes:
 Marine planning - the Orkney Islands Council perspective
 Setting the context for marine planning in Scotland
 Regional level marine planning in Orkney – the pilot and the
future
 Land use and marine planning – integration?
 Planning for aquaculture

3. What are we planning for?
 Land and sea are critical to everyday life in Orkney
– transport, jobs, energy, recreation and culture heritage
 To protect the environment on which we depend
 To support sustainable development opportunities
 To striking a balance between new socio-economic
opportunities and safeguarding existing resources
and activities
 To coordinate marine and land based development in
the right places

4. Marine planning in Orkney
– Key issues for OIC
 Political support for sustainable economic development in the marine
environment - marine planning could be an important tool
 The localisation agenda - the Council aspires to take a lead role in
statutory marine planning and wider marine resource management
 Development versus conservation – a major political issue
 Governance – Who sets the agenda? Who decides policy?
 Major questions over future governance and resourcing of marine
planning
 Community benefit? Jobs, revenue and retaining a working population

5. Marine planning in Scotland
Bottom up:
 Provision for Marine Planning Partnerships
Top down:
 The national marine plan and a regional marine plan
must be in conformity with the UK Marine Policy
Statement.
 Regional marine plans must be in conformity with the
national marine plan.
Scope for local influence on policy and spatial planning?
Regional Marine Plans
National Marine Plan
Marine (Scotland) Act 2010

6. The structure of Scottish marine
planning
What about The Crown
Estate?

7. Integrated spatial planning?
 Marine plans were originally envisaged to provide a fully
integrated approach to marine management
 The holistic consideration of interactions, trade offs and
multi sector spatial planning
 Separate single sector planning is still going strong –
renewables, oil and gas, aquaculture and MPAs
 Aquaculture within land use planning system

8. • Development pressure – marine energy
• Promote sustainable development
• Develop strategic vision and spatial strategy
• Promote more efficient use of marine space
• Stakeholder knowledge and buy-in
• Engage local communities
• Build consensus and find common ground
• Provide greater certainty for developers
• Reduce risk in the licensing process
• Test governance arrangements
• Learn how to prepare a regional marine plan
Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters
Marine Spatial Plan
Why develop a plan?

9. The plan making process
2008 -
2011
2012 2013 2014/15
Early
2016
Marine
Scotland
started
process
Orkney
Islands and
Highland
Councils
join project
Planning
Issues and
Options
consultation
Draft Plan
and further
consultation
Final Plan
and Lessons
Learned

10. The plan area

11. General Policies
Sustainable development Geodiversity
Supporting sustainable social and
economic benefits
Water environment
Safeguarding the marine environment Coastal processes and flooding
The well-being, quality of life and amenity
of coastal communities
Historic environment
Climate change Integrating coastal and marine
development
Nature conservation designations Noise
Protected species Waste and marine litter
Wider biodiversity Invasive non-native species
Landscape and seascape

12. Sectoral Policies
Commercial fisheries
Aquaculture
Oil and gas
Renewable energy generation
Recreation, sport, leisure and tourism
Marine transport
Ports and harbours
Pipelines, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure
Marine aggregates
Defence

13. Sensitivities and constraints not zoning

14. PFOW MSP Governance
Working Group
• Marine Scotland
• Orkney Islands Council
• Highland Council
Advisory Group
• Scottish Natural
Heritage
• Scottish Environment
Protection Agency
• Historic Scotland
• Highlands and Islands
Enterprise
• Orkney Harbour
Authority
• Scrabster Harbour
Trust
• Royal Yachting
Association
Stakeholders e.g.
• Local communities
• Commercial fisheries
• Marine renewables
• Aquaculture
• Environmental
interests
• Recreational interests
A more formal advisory role for wider commercial,
recreational and transportation interests in the future.

15. The future – An Orkney Regional
Marine Plan
 Scottish Government intends to formally delegate
statutory regional marine planning powers to an Orkney
Marine Planning Partnership by 2016
 The first task is to establish appropriate governance
arrangements
 The pilot marine spatial plan will provide a useful basis for
the Regional Marine Plan

16. Challenges to delivering regional
marine planning
 Finding a politically workable partnership
 Long term resources to support the delegation of a statutory function
to the local level
 Are there adequate benefits from regional marine planning to
encourage formal stakeholder participation
 Conservation interests have bought in, what about businesses?
 Barriers to participation? Staff resources, local expertise and
commercial sensitivity

17. Future governance for regional
marine planning
 Orkney Harbour Authority
 Historic Environment Scotland
 RSPB
 SNH
 SEPA
 Orkney Ferries
 Orkney Fisheries Association
Plan maker or advisor?
 Orkney Sustainable
Fisheries/IFG
 Renewable energy companies
 Aquaculture companies
 European Marine Energy
Centre
 Visit Orkney
 Orkney Marinas
The Council are leading informal stakeholder engagement with:

18. Orkney Local Development Plan
Key issues for the coastal and marine environment
 Ensuring an integrated and consistent approach to terrestrial
and marine planning policy
 Supporting development that has land based and marine
components
 Steering coastal development to appropriate locations
 Addressing coastal erosion and coastal inundation
 The aquaculture anomaly

19. Ensuring an integrated and consistent approach to
land use and marine planning policy
 Coastal overlap between plans
 Planning authority taking a lead role in land use and
marine plan making process to assist integration
 Aligning both processes – consultation, review etc
 Reduce duplication and stakeholder fatigue
 Marine Spatial Plan adopted as Planning
Policy Advice – material consideration in
determining coastal planning consents

20. • Land allocations to the support growth
of marine sectors
• Developing coastal infrastructure
• Engage businesses and end users
• Identify environmental constraints
/ sensitivities
• Developer contributions and funding
Supporting development with land based and
marine components
Master plans and Development Briefs

21. Steering coastal development to appropriate
locations
OIC Preferred approach:
 Steer developments that require a coastal location to areas
of developed coast in land allocations within settlements
 Unless there is a demonstrable need for a coastal location in
the countryside
 There is adequate protection of the coast in existing plan
policies without restrictive zoning of coastal areas
Alternative option:
 Identify a coastal zone and areas suitable for further
development, areas of significant constraint and areas
unsuitable for development

22. Coastal erosion and coastal inundation
OIC approach:
 Use of SEPA flood maps to identify areas at risk of coastal inundation and
flooding to guide the location of future development;
 Policy presumption in favour of flood alleviation measures identified in the
Flood Risk Management Plan
 Aim to develop a strategy to address coastal erosion impacts on property,
infrastructure and archaeology

23. Planning for aquaculture
• In 2007, the powers to consent and undertake development
planning for aquaculture were devolved to local planning authorities
– Councils.
Why?:
• To give coastal communities greater influence over the scale and
location of aquaculture development.
• To tackle the perceived conflict of interest – The Crown Estate as
both the seabed landlord and consenting body for development.
Council role:
• Planning consent from Councils required out to 12 nautical miles.
• Council development planning jurisdiction out to 3 nautical miles.
• Significant disincentive for the aquaculture industry to engage in
regional marine planning?

24. Aquaculture Supplementary Guidance
Planning policy:
• Planning policy for aquaculture development
within the Orkney Local Development Plan
• Detailed policy within supplementary
guidance:
- Spatial Strategy
- 9 Development Criteria
The role of other statutory agencies:
• SEPA
• Marine Scotland
• The Crown Estate
• Scottish Natural Heritage

25. Aquaculture Spatial Strategy
• Spatial Policy 1: Broad Areas of
Search
• Spatial Policy 2: Area of Potential
Sensitivity

26. Aquaculture - Development criteria
DC1 Landscape, seascape, siting and design Map DC1 – Landscape designations
DC2 Natural heritage designations, protected
species and the wider biodiversity
Map DC2 – Nature Conservation Designations
DC3 Predator control and interaction with
other species
DC4 Wild salmonid fish populations Map DC4 – Principal Sea Trout Burns
DC5 Water quality and benthic impacts Map DC5 – Water Environment
DC6 Historic environment Map DC6 – Historic Environment
DC7 Other marine users Map DC7 – Other Marine Users
DC8 Construction and Operational Impacts
DC9 Decommissioning and Reinstatement

27. Landscape, Seascape, Siting and Design
 The Orkney Islands feature a wide range of
landscapes and seascapes, each with its
own character and capacity to
accommodate new development.
 Landscape/seascape impacts relate to the
physical effect a proposed development
may have on the character, scenic quality
or “feeling of place”.
 The scale, configuration and number of
cages, height of feed barges and any other
structures, should ensure the proposal is
capable of being absorbed into the
landscape/seascape with minimal intrusion.
 Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment

28. Natural heritage designations, protected species and
the wider biodiversity
 Designated sites – SPAs, SACs, MPAs etc
 Protected species – Otters and cetaceans etc
 Seals haul out sites
 Benthic habitats – maerl beds, zostera

29. Water Quality and Benthic Impacts
 Fish farms rely on high water quality and a degree of
tidal flushing
 Fish farms require good water exchange characteristics
where tidal currents can disperse waste materials and
maintain well-oxygenated water conditions
 Potential impacts on the benthic (seabed)
environment include enrichment of the water column,
anoxic conditions on the seabed and disturbance to
the balance of benthic organisms.
 SEPA sets limits on the amount of fish (biomass) that
can be held in the cages, the amount of feed used and
the amount of certain medicines that can be
administered and discharged – CARS Licence

30. Wild salmonid fish populations
 Marine Scotland enforces provisions on
containment and parasite (sea lice) control .
 Sea trout (Priority Marine Feature) and valuable
recreational fishery.
Potential impacts upon wild salmonids:
 Impacts of parasites (sea lice) and disease on wild
fish resulting from the presence of fish farms.
 Disruption of genetic integrity and local
adaptations of wild stocks arising from
interbreeding with escapees from salmon farms.
 Introduction of non-native farmed species.

31. Impacts on other marine activities
 Commercial fishing industry
 Harbour activities including ship to ship
oil and gas transfers
 Ferry routes and marine transport
 Recreational activities – sailing,
diving, kayaking etc

32. James Green
Development and Marine Planning
Orkney Islands Council
james.green@orkney.gov.uk
01856 873535 ext. 2516
Discussion and questions