In this issue
Marine Planning in the East of England
Public invited to marine planning drop-in sessions – can you help spread the word?
We are holding 12 public sessions along the East coast of England in February to explain what marine planning is, and what it means to coastal communities. We hope you may be able to alert anyone you know with an interest in the marine area, but who we have not yet engaged with, and invite them to come along. Any individuals, marine groups or networks in the plan area are welcome, and can drop in to make sure their views are heard. From residents who enjoy a walk on the beach to keen sailors and anglers, we would like to hear from as many people as possible.
These sessions will run between the 13 to 23 February 2012 from 11 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 8 pm, with the exception of the evening session on the 15 February in Wells-Next-The-Sea in Norfolk which will run from 6 pm to 8 pm.
You can see the full timetable, with dates and locations, at www.marinemanagement.org.uk/marineplanning
Registration is not required for these drop-in sessions, and please do let us know if you would like any posters to advertise the event, or want to request more information. As always, we can be contacted on planning@marinemanagement.org.uk
Future consultation on the draft vision and objectives
We are in the process of generating the draft vision and objectives for the East Inshore and East Offshore marine plan areas. You will have an opportunity to comment on these when we publish the report on our website for a four week informal consultation from mid-March 2012. We will also be holding a number of meetings with stakeholders to gain feedback.
The objectives will encompass the overarching aims for the East plan areas and policies will be generated to deliver these objectives. Following this stage of planning, different options will be generated to deliver the objectives and this will also be consulted on in June 2012.
Additional details will be published on the website in the future.
Consultation on the Draft Evidence and Emerging Issues Report – revised version published soon
The informal consultation on the Draft Evidence and Emerging Issues Report for the East marine plan areas closed on the 10 January 2012.
The revised report will be available to view and download on our website from the 7 February 2012 at www.marinemanagement.org.uk/marineplanning
We would like to thank everyone who contributed, especially those who attended the December workshops in Hull, Peterborough and Norwich. Your contribution is very valuable to the report as it will provide us with the basis on which decisions will be made in the marine plans.
To view the summary report of the December workshops, please go to our website www.marinemanagement.org.uk/marineplanning
Marine Planning 'Out and About' Diary
We have been very busy since our last newsletter in November with our December workshops in Hull, Norwich and Peterborough, drop-in sessions in the reporting areas (London, Newcastle and Scarborough) and the release of the Draft Evidence and Emerging Issues Report. We have also had meetings with the Department of Energy and Climate Change which included representatives from the renewable and oil and gas sectors to discuss the report. We met with the Planning Advisory Service in late December to discuss the progress on the production of the plans and introduce the next steps of planning which focus on vision and objectives for the plan area.
Our three liaison officers continue to engage with local stakeholders on a daily basis and have been liaising with the coastal partnerships, the inshore fisheries and conservation authorities, local planning authorities, fishing industry, local recreational users and the tourist industry.
If you would like to arrange a meeting with us please email planning@marinemanagement.org.uk or call 0191 376 2790.
Remember you can also drop-in to the February drop-in sessions as detailed above, no appointments are necessary for this.
Chief Planning Officers Convention
Our Marine Planning Manager Russell Gadbury will be speaking at the Chief Planning Officers Convention on the 31 January 2012, giving an overview of the role of the Marine Planning Team’s activities to date, focussing on the integration between terrestrial and marine planning and charting the way forward in the production of England’s first ever marine plans.
Marine planning outside the East of England
Following on from the workshops, the future planning unit held drop-in sessions in December in the reporting areas (areas outside the plan areas that will be affected by the decisions made in the current plan areas such as shipping) for the East marine plans. A wide spectrum of stakeholders attended sessions in Scarborough, Newcastle and London.
This was extremely beneficial in terms of publicising the Draft Evidence and Emerging Issues Report and encouraging responses to the consultation. During the sessions marine planners introduced their 3D model and illustrated the diversity of both activities and resources within the marine environment and differing approaches to its management. This was complemented by a visioning exercise that gave attendees the opportunity to highlight what they think is important in the East plan areas and talk to us about the key issues in future plan areas.
Marine planners from the future plan areas team will be meeting with stakeholders in the South East and North East in early spring 2012 and are currently planning a series of visits. Also, a general meeting to discuss marine planning is being organised for the North West region and will be publicised when the arrangements have been finalised.