Al Storer - Welsh Government Marine Team Welsh Government, Marine Planning Update Alan started his career as a Foreign Direct Investment Project Executive for the Welsh Development Agency, working across a number of advanced manufacturing sectors before joining the Welsh Government and continuing in a similar role for International Business Wales. Alan initially joined the Marine Branch of the Welsh Government to help project manage the implementation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act in Wales on a 1 year secondment. Alan returned to Marine Branch in January 2011 as a Marine Planning Officer. This talk will offer an overview of the work of the Welsh Government within the marine planning process. The presentation will offer an insight into marine planning specifically within the Severn Estuary including current planning updates.

1. Marine Planning in Wales
Alan Storer
Marine Branch
alan.storer@wales.gsi.gov.uk
02920 82 3331

2. 1. Background and commitments.
2. Welsh Government progress to date.
3. Early Considerations – Approaches to
Marine Planning in Wales
4. Next Steps
What will this presentation cover?

3. Background and commitments

4. • The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 sets out the
statutory basis for a new plan-led system for marine
activities throughout the UK in order to help achieve
sustainable development in the marine area taking an
ecosystems based approach.
• The new system began with a UK-wide Marine Policy
Statement, which was adopted by all four
administrations in March 2011.
• All four UK administrations, as they have adopted the
Marine Policy Statement, are statutorily obliged to
produce plans.
Background and commitments

5. • The Welsh Ministers are the marine planning authority
for the Welsh inshore and the Welsh offshore areas (i.e.
out to the median line) but need all plans for the offshore
(12 nautical miles to the median line) agreed by the
Secretary of State
• Also plans for the inshore (out to 12 nautical miles) if
they cover reserved matters e.g. energy, need to be
agreed by the Secretary of State
• All four administrations committed to planning jointly in
cross-border areas where practicable.
Background and commitments

7. WG Progress To Date

8. • The previous administration went out to consultation on our
approach to marine planning in Feb 2011.
• Key commitments, messages and questions were:
– commitment to national planning with spatial priorities.
– Relatively open questions on the level sub-national planning
– Open question on land/sea integration.
– Open questions on evidence and data.
– A proposed governance structure.
– Commitment to openness, engagement and transparency.
WG Progress To Date

9. Responses
• Stakeholders were in broad agreement with the need for a national
plan with spatial priorities.
• Stakeholders were split on the level of detailed sub-national
planning, with a bias towards a “hotspot approach”
• Several evidence gaps were suggested – Mobile species, sea bed
mapping, socio-economic data.
New Administration
• The Minister supports in principle the approach but with a review of
timings.
• The Minister has also asked for this approach to be cleared by
Cabinet.
WG Progress To Date

10. WG Internal marine planning group
• Chaired by Matthew Quinn, Director Enviro & SD.
• Consists of the Heads of each relevant policy areas – tourism,
energy, CADW, Conservation, Ports, Fishing etc.
• Key current responsibility is to help shape the paper on approach
planned for marine planning for Cabinet
• Likely to form the basis of the overarching Marine Programme
Board/Marine Planning Steering Group.
• Agreement to create a WG Marine Evidence Group.
WG Marine Programme
• Holistic approach to the various marine elements; Planning, MSFD,
Licence policy, MCZs.
• Programme Board, Evidence Group, Stake Holder Group, ad hoc
Task and Finish Groups.
WG Progress To Date

11. Early Considerations – Approaches to marine
Planning in Wales

12. Uncertainty/Flexible Certainty/Constraint
Non-
Directive
Fully
Planned
Policy
Hierarchy
Preferred
Areas
“Zoning”
Early Considerations - Approaches
to Marine Planning
Data/evidence needsResource Intensity

13. • Non- Directive - (WG consultation) – no direction other than statutory
requirements and guidance to applicants/regulators on considerations.
• Fully Planned – all areas of the sea are planned for with activities/features
assigned.
• Policy Hierarchy (implicit/explicit) – Lists activities/features in a non-
alphabetical way. Marine Policy Statement – Scottish national pre-
consultation draft maybe seen as an implicit policy hierarchy.
• Preferred Areas – areas of preferred activity are highlighted based on
political priority and opportunity fits but a full application for a development
activity is still needed.
• “Zoning” – an area is “designated” as a zone for a given activity/feature
with all the relevant assessments completed so a developer can apply for a
licence with certainty and “plug and play”.
Early Considerations - Approaches
to Marine Planning

14. • Scale – The Welsh marine area is roughly the same size as an
English planning region.
– does Wales need sub-national planning ? If so where and why ?
• Need to be mindful of Welsh Government legislative initiatives –
Sustainable Development Bill, Planning Bill, Environment Bill ….
– Liaise and interact across government.
• Creation of a „Single Body‟ – The Natural Resources Body –
– Additional consultation running until Oct. Also consulted in the summer.
– Terrestrial natural resources planning and plans.
– WG has very recently created a new natural resources planning team.
– Marine Licensing and Consents is to be transferred from Welsh
Government to the new body.
Early Considerations - Approaches
to Marine Planning

15. Next Steps

16. • A cabinet paper is being prepared for Ministers to illustrate what
marine spatial planning could look like in practice. To inform the
paper, each policy department is being asked to:
• Express their priority policies spatially in terms of the coast and the
marine area.
• Provide the views of their sector on what it requires from marine
planning more generally
• Can we spatialise them?
– If not why not ?
• Evidence gaps?
• Lack of consensus?
• Co-location of activities?
Next Steps

17. Thank you !
Alan Storer
Marine Branch
alan.storer@wales.gsi.gov.uk
02920 82 3331