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Strategic Scoping Report

We carried out a strategic scoping exercise (SSE) to examine the spatial distribution of natural resources and activities within England's marine area, and to provide a national context to the sub-national plans as they are developed.

Most activities and resources are not evenly distributed and some are constrained by their particular physical requirements such as depth, water temperature, substrate type, wind speed and so on. Knowing the distribution and scale of a resource is within the plan area and the requirements for that resource, both now and in the future, is critical to understanding the relative importance of that resource or activity for the marine plan.

This report is the first summary of the results from the SSE. It highlights, for the natural environment and the major use sectors, the relative importance of each plan area. The SSE will be an ongoing process as new data and information is continually generated, planned developments become reality and the requirements of the various sectors change. The SSE highlighted the large amount of data pertaining to the marine and coastal environment and the current uses and activities.

The report gives a national picture of the key activities and resources associated with each of England's marine areas. The report pulls together existing information from a range of sources to provide planners with a national picture before making planning decisions at a regional level.

Download the final Strategic Scoping Report (PDF 10.4 MB).

Sections of the document are also available to download separately.

Contact information

Marine Planning Team
Marine Management Organisation
PO Box 1275
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE99 5BN

Tel: 0191 376 2790
Email: planning@
marinemanagement.org.uk