Copy

Planning Newsletter: October 2018
This issue includes news on the implementation of the South Marine Plan, and on the development of the plans in the north west, north east, south west and south east marine areas

North East, North West, South East and South West policy development during summer 2018

We are currently developing marine plans for the north east, north west and south east, and the south west. In spring 2018, as part of Iteration 2 of the outputs of the marine planning process, we presented a range of possible marine plan responses to address identified issues. Following stakeholder feedback and the outputs of the sustainability appraisal we identified the preferred options for each marine plan area. The result of this selection was a revised list of draft policies to address the issues in each plan area.
 
Over the summer months we have been refining the draft policy text and developing the supporting text to explain the context and how the policies should be implemented. This involved targeted summer engagement with a number of stakeholders to ensure polices are distinct and relevant before sharing more widely in early 2019. We would like to thank everyone that took part in the development of draft policies in the north east, north west, south east and south west. You can read the extent of this engagement here.
 
The full set of draft policies form the Iteration 3 outputs which will be available to view online in early 2019 with an opportunity for all stakeholders to provide feedback. More information about Iteration 3 engagement will be circulated shortly. If you have any questions please contact us at planning mailbox or through your local Marine Officer (Planning).

Implementation of the South Marine Plan

The South Marine Plans’ team has been busy running implementation training sessions with local planning authorities, marine decision makers and port and harbour authorities across the area. The sessions concentrate on responsibilities under Section 58 of the Marine and Coastal Act, and provide training on the use of the Marine Information System (MIS). Ten workshops were delivered over the month of September and the start of October, covering the area from Teignbridge to Dover, with more to follow this year. These workshops are a great opportunity for decision-makers to understand how the marine plans fit into their planning responsibilities, and how they can help them manage their local area in the most sustainable way. They provide a good opportunity for face-to-face interaction with MMO representatives. The team is also attending various coastal forums, to inform a wide range of stakeholders about the implications of the South Marine Plan. If you want to set up a meeting with us, then please contact planning mailbox; we would be happy to meet and discuss the plans with you.

Monitoring of Marine Plans

As part of understanding the impact of marine plans – how people are using them and what changes are happening as a result – a report is prepared and laid before Parliament every three years from the date of marine plan adoption. The requirements of the report are set out in Section 61 of The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The first report of its kind in England was prepared in relation to the East Marine Plans in 2017 and can be found here, with the second three-yearly report being due in March 2020. The first report for the newly adopted South Marine Plan will be due in 2021.
 
To inform this reporting we carry out annual monitoring surveys. We will be sending out these surveys to stakeholders, with an interest in the east and south marine plan areas, at the beginning of December. We would be grateful for your feedback on how you are utilising the plans in your decision-making. We would like to thank you in advance for your participation and we look forward to hearing from you.

East Marine Plans Update

Engagement with local planning authorities and ports and harbours continues to aid implementation of the East Marine Plans. Work continues to reinforce relationships with stakeholders across the plan area and to increase understanding of marine planning generally. The MMO have also provided a response to the consultation on the Belgian Marine Plan to ensure coordination and cooperation of the management of the North Sea between member states.
 

Projects

The MMO has a number of ongoing projects in support of marine planning ranging from Environment Agency-led activity on coastal squeeze, MMO commissions such as  “Intensity and impacts of non-licensable activity on MPAs” and partnerships with Defra on the “Social and economic impact of fisheries”. A complete list of MMO’s ongoing and published projects can be found on the MMO’s Evidence webpages
 
The MMO have completed the Seascape Characterisation and Visual Impact in Marine Areas project (MMO1134) with the publication of the Seascape Character Assessments for the north east, north west, south east and south west marine plan areas. Integrating with the existing assessments for the east and south marine plan areas, completes the national coverage of England’s seascape.
 
 
Enhancing stakeholder engagement
 
The first output of the EMFF Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement project will soon be available with the publication of the Stakeholder Experiences and Insights report commissioned from Nomensa. The results aided our summer engagement and will inform preparations for Iteration 3 engagement in early 2019.
 
We are now working with coastal partnerships to deliver engagement activities for “hard-to-reach” stakeholders and on cross-border marine planning. The North West Coast Forum has already delivered a cross-border workshop in partnership with the MMO and the Welsh Government, where stakeholders provided feedback on emerging north west policies and on scope for a cross-border stakeholder engagement mechanism for the Dee Estuary.
 
In the South the Solent Forum delivered a workshop as part of their annual forum meeting. We sought members’ views on how the MMO could reach a wider audience. We also looked at how we could engage hard-to-reach stakeholders in our implementation and monitoring work.
 
The coastal partnerships will continue to deliver a variety of project activities around the country, over the coming year.  The next is part of the Solway Firth Partnership /Solway Coast AONB’s Conference on 2 November 2018.
 
 
Digital marine planning project
 
The second, Alpha, phase of the Digital Marine Planning project commenced in September this year, and will run to the end of November. Throughout this phase we’ve been investigating what a possible prototype for a new digital marine planning service might look like. This is being done using the outputs from the first phase of the project, Discovery, where we undertook user research to try and understand what people wanted and needed out of a new marine planning system. At the end of the current, Alpha, phase we expect to have a responsive, coded prototype built around the outputs of the user research.

Marine plan area update from the North East, North West, South East and South West


North East
 
Kathleen Telford has been supporting Zoe Mackay in the North East and provided an update on marine plans at the Sunderland, Durham and Hartlepool Heritage Coast Partnership annual coastal forum. She also learnt about different projects helping shape the Durham coast line.
 
Zoe Mackay provided an update on marine plans, and the different projects we have commissioned to support our work, at the Tay and Forth Estuary Forum conference. In October 2018 Zoe left the MMO and we will be looking to fill this role.
 
Both attended the Naturally Healthier by Design workshop hosted by Town and Country Planning Association. They learnt about the potential opportunities to create green and blue infrastructure to support healthy lifestyles for all, and in turn support native wildlife, when designing and planning the built environment.
 
North West
 
Joe Smithyman has set up a range of stakeholder meetings as he gets out and about in the north west in his new role. Joe has met with a number of local authorities, ports and attended a Tidal Dee Catchment Partnership Steering Group meeting with stakeholders to discuss the importance of cross-border engagement within the River Dee estuary. Joe will continue to engage with a variety of stakeholders within the North West and across borders in the coming months.
 
Joe will be giving a lecture on marine planning and renewable energy at Lancaster University in November.
 
South East
 
With the neighbouring South Marine Plan adopted, Tom Pavitt has helped with workshops in the south which will help in the future with South East Marine Plans’ implementation. This is particularly true for the Port of Dover where the port itself is in the South East, but their ferry lanes to France are in the South. Tom met with Dover Harbour Board (DHB) to explain the adoption of the South Marine Plan and how they can use the policies as well as input to the South East Marine Plans’ development. DHB provided recommendations on how MIS could improve its accessibility including an improvement on the statutory harbour authority jurisdiction area layer. This information has been passed on to our digital marine planning project team.
 
Tom continues to hold duty to cooperate meetings with the thirty seven local councils that border the south east marine plan area. Recently, he met with councils in Essex and Kent who highlighted their interest in the development of the seascape marine plan policy, and associated documents, so they can align with similar landscape assessments the councils were developing.
 
South West
 
Amy Willcocks has made the most of her first months by getting around the region to learn about the issues, concerns and character of the area. Amy met groups including Wildlife Trusts, North Devon Fisherman’s Association, Lundy Island Reserve and local authorities to update them on the progress of the marine plans and to let them know how they and their memberships can get involved; this was particularly beneficial for those groups who had had no previous exposure to the MMO and the marine planning process.
 
Alex Curd had beneficial meetings with the Environment Agency, where he learnt about water quality projects and the issues of shad reproduction in the Tamar estuary. Alex also heard about positive action being taken by the Tamara Estuaries Consultative Forum such as local biosecurity plans, beach cleans and attempts to reduce populations of marine invasive species. Alex had a productive discussion at the Cornwall Marine Liaison Group meeting that included how net gain is implemented in Cornwall that Alex will follow up within the MMO.
 

Team changes and recruitment

We welcome new colleagues to the team and say goodbye to one.
 
Katharine Ludford joined us from the Licensing team as a Marine Planning Manager in September and replaces Russell Gadbury who has moved to Canada.
 
Abby Haines and Mathilda Evans also joined the team in September and are Marine Officer (Planners) in the South. Abby is based in Poole and Mathilda is based in Shoreham.
 
Joe Smithyman joined the team in September too and is a Marine Officer (Planner) for the North West based in Preston.
 
Zoe MacKay is leaving us this month to take up a post at Defra in York. We wish her luck in her new role and hope to fill this post soon.
 
Marine Officer (Planners) are here to keep you up to date with the development of
marine plans in your area. Please contact us at planning mailbox if you would like to
meet your local officer or contact them directly.
 
North East: Kathleen Telford – 0208 0265 325
North West: Joe Smithyman – 0208 0266 112
East: Amy Balding 0208 0268 621 and Eleanor Johnson 0208 0266 939
South East: Tom Pavitt 0208 2258 857
South West: Amy Willcocks 0207 8955 620 and Alex Curd 0208 5654 835
South: Abby Haines 0208 0265 506 and Mathilda Evans 0127 3424 849
Useful links

Marine Information System 

Marine plans: 
Website
Website
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Google Plus
Google Plus
Pinterest
Pinterest
YouTube
YouTube
Email
Email
Copyright © 2018 Marine Management Organisation, All rights reserved.


To unsubscribe from this newsletter email the marine planning team: planning@marinemanagement.org.uk with your request.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Marine Management Organisation · Lancaster House · Hampshire Court · Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7YH · United Kingdom