Extending marine planning zones: consultation

Page 1 of 5

Closes 11 Dec 2024

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Background and questions

In 2007 the definition of “development” in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (“the 1997 Act”) was amended to include fish and shellfish farming out to 12 nautical miles. This means that any proposed marine fish or shellfish farm located between 0-12 nautical miles requires planning permission from the relevant planning authority.

However, the Town and Country Planning (Marine Fish Farming) (Scotland) Order 2007 (“the 2007 Order”) only designated Scotland’s marine planning zones out to 3 nautical miles. Full details on the policy intention and approach to designating the marine planning zones can be viewed in the Consultation Paper on Defining Marine Boundaries for Fish Farming, published on 31 October 2005.

In practice, this means that there is no designated planning authority to which a developer may submit an application for a farm located between 3-12 nautical miles.

When the marine planning zones were first designated in 2007, it was considered highly unlikely that applications for planning permissions between 3-12 nautical miles would be lodged in the near future. It was therefore noted in Planning Circular 1/2007: Planning Controls for Marine Fish Farming that the Scottish Executive would monitor the situation, with further work envisaged during subsequent years to extend the marine planning zones out to 12 nautical miles. This work was not undertaken and as such there remains a legislative gap.

The complete background and associated maps are contained in the full consultation document. The full consultation document and associated impact assessments should be considered when responding the questions outlined below.

1(a). Do you agree with the proposal to extend marine planning zones out to 12 nautical miles?
2(a). Do you agree with the proposed marine planning zones, extended out to 12 nautical miles, as presented in the illustrative and interactive maps?

These maps can be found in the consultation paper:

  • "Figure 1: Illustrative map of the boundaries of the current marine planning zones (0-3 nautical miles)", this can be found in the consultation paper under "Background"
  • "Figure 2: Illustrative map of the boundaries of the proposed marine planning zones", this can be found in the consultation paper under "Proposal to extend marine planning zones" 
  • The interactive map for current marine planing zones (0-3 nautical miles) can be viewed at Marine Scotland - National Marine Plan Interactive
  • The interactive map for proposed marine planing zones (0-12 nautical miles) can be viewed at Marine Scotland - National Marine Plan Interactive
3. Do you have any other points you wish to raise regarding the proposal to extend marine planning zones out to 12 nautical miles?

More information

The current designation of planning authorities to consider applications for planning permission for fish and shellfish farm developments do not align with the requirements of the planning system in respect of fish farm development between 3-12 nautical miles from the Scottish coast, and this legislative gap should now be removed.

Resolving this issue will enable businesses to explore opportunities to site farms in these regions which have the potential to support increased production, reduce environmental interactions and to support fish health and welfare. Development beyond 3 nautical miles has the potential to see innovation delivered in Scotland, alongside realisation of the wider employment and supply chain benefits which will come as a result.

The proposal to extend marine planning zones out to 12 nautical miles will close the existing legislative gap and ensure consistency in planning requirements for fish farm developments within the 0-12 nautical mile zone across Scotland.

In the short to medium term it is anticipated that a small number of proposals are likely to come forward, with those developments being located within local authority areas in which aquaculture farms already operate. As such it is not anticipated that there would be a significant increased burden on aquaculture regulators.

In the longer term, and as ‘offshore’ aquaculture develops in Scotland, there may be opportunities for further development across Scotland, including innovative developments such as co-location of farms with other marine infrastructure.

4(a). Do you agree with our approach to the impact assessments for the proposed extension to marine planning zones?

Impact assessments

The Scottish Government is required to consider the impacts of proposed policies, plans or strategic decisions in relation to equalities, various societal groups and sectors, data protection and the environment, under a range of legislation and commitments.

The following impact assessments or relevant screening for them have been completed in relation to proposals for regulations on the procedures to extend marine planning zones out to 12 nautical miles:

  • Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA)
  • Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
  • Fairer Scotland Duty (FSD)
  • Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) – Partial
  • Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) – Partial
  • Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
  • Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

The partial impact assessments will be completed following analysis of the responses to this consultation.

Further details of this, are set out in the the impact assessments published alongside the consultation paper.