Abstract
Ten years after the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 that introduced marine planning to UK, this article investigates the progress and effectiveness of marine plans. It identifies that initial plans are still being produced in parts of the UK. Scotland has led the way with a National Marine Plan that has already been reviewed. England’s approach has been to produce a sequence of regional plans with two adopted. Wales adopted its National Marine Plan in November 2019 and Northern Ireland’s national marine plans are under preparation. The article examines the effectiveness of the plans through a framework informed by implementation theory assuming that plan-making indicates a ‘top-down’ approach to policy. The plans and their policies are assessed to draw reflections on the soundness of the documents. Marine licensing decisions are considered to assess the extent to which they reflect adopted policies. Limited evidence of the explicit influence of policies in those decisions was established. The findings were supplemented by interviews with key actors including applicants. This revealed a culture of conciliation and cooperation among decision-makers. Analysis and reflection led to positive and challenging conclusions for the future development of marine plan-making in the UK and elsewhere.
Highlights
The purpose of plans is to effect change
The complexity of the overall legal and policy context for the development of marine plans and their use in decision-making for marine licences, as part of a larger marine management regime, lent itself to the use of an implementation framework with which to assess the effectiveness of the marine plans
The 2009 Act covered the whole of the UK, with the legislation applying to the individual administrations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It includes a requirement on the four administrations to produce marine plans in the context of a Marine Policy Statement (MPS)[7] and to ensure that decisions made by public bodies would be in accordance with ‘the appropriate marine policy documents’
Summary
The purpose of plans is to effect change. Plans influence decisions such that outcomes are different from those that would have happened had they not existed. This research examines the plans, their content and decisions that have been made in those areas where marine policies have been adopted. While it might be considered that given the relatively few plans that have been adopted in the 10 years since the 2009 Act it is premature to review their effectiveness at this point in time, the authors would argue that as plans develop, an approach to implementation of policy should be established and learning between different regimes can take place. The complexity of the overall legal and policy context for the development of marine plans and their use in decision-making for marine licences, as part of a larger marine management regime, lent itself to the use of an implementation framework with which to assess the effectiveness of the marine plans. Slater, ‘What is Marine Spatial Planning?’ (2012) 14(1) Environmental Law Review 1
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