These will be the third and fourth marine plans to be produced under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and will seek to take account of social, economic and environmental factors that affect the South marine areas and the communities that are dependent on or have an interest in the marine area.
Marine plans, and their reflection of the MPS, contribute to a plan-led regulatory system for marine activities. They provide greater coherence in policy and a forward-looking, proactive and spatial planning approach to the management of the marine area, its resources, and the activities and interactions that take place within it. Once prepared the plans will cover a 20 year period and will be reviewed regularly throughout this time.
As part of the marine plan-making process, a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is being undertaken that incorporates the requirements of the UK Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Regulations.
This scoping report sets the framework and approach for the SA process and explains how it will be undertaken for the draft South marine plans. Subsequent sections of this report provide information about the proposed approach and provide background information about the existing conditions within the plan areas. The main detail of the report is contained in a number of annexes, which should be read in order to understand the proposed scope of this SA.
This scoping report is the primary mechanism for consulting on the scope and level of detail of the SA, and is being consulted upon in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 12(5) and (6) of the SEA Regulations.
Date: 2/1/2015 End of consultation
Author: Marine Management Organisation
DCP link: This item updates DCP section 3.161
