{"id":9987,"date":"2015-04-09T18:31:08","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T17:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=9987"},"modified":"2015-04-09T18:31:08","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T17:31:08","slug":"scotlands-first-national-marine-plan-launched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=9987","title":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s First National Marine Plan launched"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first national marine plan for Scotland has now been published, detailing the planning framework for maritime areas and sectoral plans for offshore energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the new plan, mapping data of particular interest to IHBC members from the National Marine Plan interactive (NMPi) includes data on the historic Environment and Cultural Heritage\u00a0 (Designated Wrecks; Listed Buildings (Coastal); Scheduled Monuments (Coastal); Historic MPAs; Protected places Vessels designated as Controlled Sites \/ Protected Places under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986).<\/p>\n

The Scottish Government writes:<\/span> Scotland\u2019s first ever National Marine Plan has been published recently by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.\u00a0 The plan sets out a single statutory planning framework for all marine activity in Scottish waters. This will include policies for the sustainable management of a wide range of marine industries, including those which are long established such as fishing and ports and those more recently emerging such as offshore wind and marine renewable energy. It also includes sectoral plans for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy in Scottish waters and removes the options for offshore wind development in the Solway Firth.\u00a0 The framework covers all of Scotland\u2019s seas out to 200 nautical miles and applies to existing and emerging activities as well as devolved and reserved functions. The plan will be reported on within three years of adoption.<\/p>\n

Mr Lochhead said:\u00a0 \u2018Our seas provide energy, food and recreation and many other crucial goods and services. This is why it is so important the marine environment itself is at the heart of the plan, ensuring it remains a prized asset for future generations.\u00a0 The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the economic activity of the marine industry while ensuring the marine environment is protected and enhanced.\u00a0 I am delighted to have adopted Scotland\u2019s first ever National Marine Plan following a consultation process, it is an important step towards achieving sustainable management of our important marine resources.\u00a0 This marks the beginning of a long term commitment to protect our seas for future generations and I would like to thank the wide range of marine interests who have been involved in the development of the plan. We now have an easy to use framework with planning information available online through National Marine Plan interactive.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Shona Turnbull, Coastal Planning Officer for Highland Council said: \u2018The Highland Council welcomes the introduction of the National Marine Plan. Given the large geographic extent of the Highland coastal and marine area and the variety of industry and wildlife it supports, having a national integrated framework to support sustainable development of activities in this area can only be of benefit. We look forward to working with Marine Scotland on the next stage of developing the three regional marine plans for Highland.\u2019<\/p>\n

Andrew Bachell, SNH\u2019s Director of Policy & Advice said: \u2018We welcome the plan. We support its strategic objectives and its commitment to put the marine environment at the heart of the planning process. The plan provides a useful high-level framework, setting the scene for more detailed spatial plans at the regional level.\u00a0 Marine plans should steer development to the best locations, helping to safeguard the health of Scotland\u2019s rich and diverse seas and all the benefits they provide.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lindsay Leask, Senior Policy Manager, Scottish Renewables said:\u00a0 \u2018Offshore renewable energy holds huge potential for sustainable development in Scotland, which is already home to some of the most advanced wave and tidal technologies in the world, and a developing offshore wind sector. It is also an incredibly powerful tool in the fight against one of the greatest widespread threats to the health of the marine environment \u2013 climate change.\u00a0 As such, Scottish Renewables supports the development of the National Marine Plan and the plans for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy and welcomes the Plan\u2019s commitment to building a globally competitive Scottish offshore wind and marine renewables industry.<\/p>\n

View the National Marine Plan interactive (NMPi<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Download<\/a> the new National Marine Plan<\/p>\n

IHBC newsblogs on maritime issues<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

View the press release<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first national marine plan for Scotland has now been published, detailing the planning framework for maritime areas and sectoral plans for offshore energy. In addition to the new plan, mapping data of particular interest to IHBC members from the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9988,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9987\/revisions\/9988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}