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Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009

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Pre-consultation on the draft UK Marine Policy Statement: A paper for discussion

The pre-consultation is intended to engage with interested parties and will not have any effect on existing regulatory, planning or consenting regimes.

Marine Licensing

Marine licensing
There is now a "one stop shop" for marine licensing queries in Wales.

Marine Conservation Zones

Marine Conservation Zones will be a new type of Marine Protected Area.

The Act gives the UK Administrations new powers to help achieve the vision set out in the UK High Level Marine Objectives.

The powers include:

Marine planning

The Act includes a new system of marine planning that will cover all key marine activities. It will consolidate and explain the policies relating to the marine area.

The marine planning system will guide and direct decision makers and sea users towards a more sustainable use of the sea; ensuring a strong link between policy and individual developments and activities.

The UK Marine Policy Statement will be the first part of the new system of marine planning being introduced around the UK. The Statement will set out the policy framework for our UK seas and provide the context for developing Marine Plans. Marine plans will provide more detailed policy and guidance at a country or regional level.

Visit: UK Marine Policy Statement (external link)

Wales will be responsible for developing a marine plan or plans for the Welsh marine area. We intend to consult later in 2010 on options for spatial planning in Welsh waters.

More information on the new system of marine planning is available on the right hand side of this page.

Marine licensing system

The Act also include a new marine licensing system that consolidates and modernises the existing consenting regimes. The existing regimes which regulate marine activities and developments are the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and the Coast Protection Act 1949.

The aim is enable a more streamlined, transparent and effective consenting process in Wales. The plan is to introduce the new system from April 2011. We have consulted on the general principles of the new system and will be consulting on detailed regulations later in 2010.

More information on the new marine licensing system is available on the right.

Marine conservation mechanism

The Act includes a new mechanism for conserving marine plants, animals, habitats or features of geological or geomorphological interest through the creation of Marine Conservation Zones. These will be a new type of Marine Protected Area. These sites together with existing management tools will help enhance biodiversity and promote healthy functioning and resilient marine ecosystems.

More information on Marine Conservation Zones is available on the right.

More information on the Act is available on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website.

visit: Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website (external link)