What is Marine Spatial Planning?

Marine spatial planning is the idea that, just as on land, the sustainable development of our marine environment requires to be holistically managed with reference to information about the effects of use and development. Decisions should be made to achieve sustainable development, having regard to planning policies prepared using the best available data.

The UK and devolved nations within it have been examining proposals to make plans to guide decision making in the marine environment for some time.

The Scottish planning legislation of 2006 extended the scope of local planning authorities' powers to inshore waters, to enable them to be decision  makers in respect of aquaculture development.  Marine Bills are under development by DEFRA for UK waters and by the Scottish Government, putting in place systematic marine spatial planning arrangements.

Developing the Marine Planning System

The RTPI strongly supports the principle that plan-making for the marine environment will improve the outcomes of decisions about marine use and development and has worked with DEFRA and the Scottish Government to translate this support into action. 

The RTPI  has formulated:

• a policy statement on marine spatial planning (2006);
• a formal response to the marine white paper (2007); and
• a formal response to the draft Marine Bill (2008).

RTPI work has been taken forward through a Marine Spatial Planning Task Group, This is a multidisciplinary body of 33 senior planners and other professionals, representing public, private, and consultancy interests in the marine environment, with experience ranging from port development and minerals extraction to marine nature conservation.

• Click here to access the RTPI's archive analysis of the draft UK Marine Bill, published by DEFRA in April 2008.
• Click here to access the RTPI's archive coverage of the 2007 Marine White Paper

There is an ongoing DEFRA, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive consultation on draft marine objectives for UK waters - PPS1 for the seas.

• Click here to access the draft objectives
• Click here to email your views to the RTPI policy team by 30 August 2008.

Author:

Rynd Smith

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

12-May-07

Categories:

Policy 

Sections:

What Planning Does

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