North West Marine Plans
Information and documents on the development of the North West Marine Plans.
North west inshore and offshore marine plan areas
The north west inshore marine plan area stretches from the Solway Firth border with Scotland to the River Dee border with Wales, taking in a total of approximately 4,900 square kilometres of sea. Scotland, Wales and their marine areas border the north west inshore marine plan area.
The area overlaps with 19 local authorities (including four unitary authorities), the Lake District National Park and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The north west offshore marine plan area includes the area from 12 nautical miles extending out to the seaward limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone, a total of approximately 2,200 square kilometres of sea. The marine areas of Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man border the north west offshore marine plan area.
The North West Marine Plan provides a policy framework which will be used to help inform decision-making on what activities take place in the marine environment and how the marine environment is developed, protected and improved in the next 20 years. It provides a clear, evidence-based approach to inform decision-making by marine users and regulators on where, when or how activities might take place within the North West marine area, balancing environmental, economic and social factors.
The North West Marine Plan will help business realise the economic benefits available from the marine plan area whilst ensuring the marine environment remains protected. The north west marine plan areas are relatively small but are very busy, with a large variety of existing activities competing for limited space. The north west marine plan areas are important for energy production the ports of the north west play an important role in supporting the wide range of industries.
This will be achieved through its 13 objectives, the use of natural capital and supporting local policies, all of which have been developed in partnership with local and national organisations, representatives and users of the area.
The adoption of the North West Marine Plan, in conjunction with the North East, South East and South West Marine Plans, is a significant milestone and means, for the first time, England has a complete and integrated marine planning framework to manage how we use, develop, protect and enhance our marine environment.
Marine planning provides an important way of implementing government’s marine policies at a local level, making ambitions tangible, relevant and achievable, improving the wellbeing of coastal communities and supporting a stronger, more sustainable marine economy.
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The North West Marine Plan documents
Developing the plans
Iterative Approach
The development of the North East, North West, South East and South West Marine Plans has followed an iterative process.
They have been developed in close partnership with local and national stakeholders from a range of backgrounds and sectors. Stakeholder involvement has been central to creating robust, evidence-based local plans.
Core development documents produced during the development of each draft Marine Plan including iteration outputs, details of engagement and feedback and are available below:
Iteration 1: Issues and evidence
Marine planning issues are opportunities or challenges within the marine plan area, that is likely to drive change, or be affected by change over the 20 years the marine plans cover. Understanding the opportunities and challenges for each marine plan area is critical to developing meaningful and tailored marine plans. In 2016 the Marine Management Organisation launched a ‘Call for Issues with supporting evidence’ in the north east, north west, south east and south west marine plan areas. The Marine planning issues and evidence database was produced as a result of this public engagement, and holds information about the issues raised for the each marine plan area and the evidence used for marine planning.
Evidence underpins the development of policies within each draft Marine Plan. Evidence used for marine plan preparation included spatial data (presented on the Explore Marine Plans digital service), third party research reports/guidance documents, specifically commissioned research and national/sub-national policy. The Marine Management Organisation maintains an evidence projects register which includes evidence reports that have been commissioned to support the work of the organisation including marine planning.
An Iteration 1 engagement summary has been produced.
Iteration 2: Options for policies
Options for policies were developed in Iteration 2 to address the opportunities and challenges identified through Iteration 1 (Call for Issues with Supporting Evidence in 2016). Stakeholders provided feedback on the options in early 2018. This was an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to the development of the preferred draft policies ahead of the statutory consultation on the draft marine plans.
An Iteration 2 engagement summary has been produced.
Iteration 3: Draft policies and supporting text
Preferred draft policies and supporting text were developed following feedback from the Iteration 2 Options engagement and the Call for Issues with Supporting Evidence. The Iteration 3 engagement ran in early 2019 and provided stakeholders an opportunity to view and provide comment on preferred draft policies, draft supporting text for policies including on implementation, and the next steps in marine planning.
An Iteration 3 engagement summary has been produced, as well as a more detailed You Said, We Did: Summary of stakeholder-led Iteration 3 policy changes report.
Consultation Draft Marine Plans
The consultation on the Draft North East, North West, South East and South West Marine Plans was open from 14 January to 20 April 2020. This was the final stage of statutory public consultation before we submit the Plans to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for adoption.
A Consultation Summary has been produced and published.
Sustainability
Marine plans place sustainability at the centre of all decisions.
The draft Sustainability Appraisal for the draft North West Marine Plan provides an independent assessment of economic, social and environmental sustainability.
We are asking for your views on the draft Sustainability Appraisal as part of the consultation on the draft North West Marine Plan.
To ensure that the draft Marine Plans conform to The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and The Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 the MMO commissioned AECOM to complete an Appropriate Assessment Information Report to inform the Habitats Regulations Assessment.
Using the plans
As with land-use planning, marine planning is a statutory requirement.
A marine plan becomes a statutory consideration in all relevant planning decisions once it is published for public consultation. This included the North West Marine Plan whilst in draft stage.
The North West Marine Plan must be used for all planning decisions for the sea, coast, estuaries and tidal waters (which sometimes extend a long distance inland), as well as developments that impact these areas, such as infrastructure. All public authorities are responsible for implementing the North West Marine Plan through existing regulatory and decision-making processes.
As well as public authorities, all applicants, third parties and advisors should also consider the North West Marine Plan. Proposals should conform with all relevant policies, taking account of economic, environmental and social considerations.
For more information on how to use marine plans please visit the Using Marine Plans link below.
To view the North West Marine Plan policies you can use our Explore Marine Plans service or read the North West Marine Plans.
Monitoring
As the North West Marine Plans are in place for 20 years, it is important that it is regularly assessed.
As required by the Marine and Coastal Access Act, the North West Marine Plan will be monitored and reviewed, looking at the:
- effects of policies in the marine plan
- effectiveness of those policies in securing plan objectives
- progress towards achieving any objectives set out for that region in a marine plan and the Marine Policy Statement
The MMO is required to produce a report on this monitoring at intervals of not more than three years. After each monitoring report, a recommendation is made about whether the marine plans need to be reviewed to allow them to respond to change.
Marine Planning Monitoring Surveys
Key documents
Updates to this page
Last updated 16 February 2024 + show all updates
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Update 16-02-24
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Page updated with NW document updates
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Consultation Summary published.
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Amendments made to marine plan consultation deadlines.
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Iteration 3 information added
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Iteration 3 details added
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North West sustainability appraisal options assessment report
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Text updated
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Questionnaire launched
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Information on the development of the marine plan updated
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Statement of Public Participation published
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Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report published
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Call for issues with supporting evidence launched
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Issues and evidence workshops announced
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First published.